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Missing here is the 3rd cheap German grocery store that Americans love: Trader Joe's. Trader Joe's is owned by the same family that owns Aldi Nord. Aldi Nord al

Missing here is the 3rd cheap German grocery store that Americans love: Trader Joe's. Trader Joe's is owned by the same family that owns Aldi Nord. Aldi Nord also operates Lidl stores in the US. If you pay close attention, you will see some of the same products with different branding and if you squint you will notice the same reduced SKU grocery discounter business model. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aldi

jwuphysics 5y ago
I agree that Americans love Trader Joe's, but I would by no means consider it to be a cheap grocery store.
- georgyo 5y ago
  At least in NYC, Trader Joe's is cheaper or comparable with other grocery stores. I spend about half there as I would at a whole foods for a weeks worth of food.
  - captainredbeard 5y ago
    It depends on how much processed food you eat
- dougmwne 5y ago
  My average bills there are close to shopping at Aldi. Here in Florida at least Publix is significantly more expensive.
- Rebelgecko 5y ago
  My local "regular" grocery store , Ralphs,has several identical items to Trader Joe's (like the exact same orange chicken, salsa, etc with different labels). The TJs version is universally cheaper. It's a bit more expensive than Walmart and the dollar store but arguably a much better value.
- reducesuffering 5y ago
  It is actually cheap relative to the quality you get, so a lot of value. A linked article from TFA notes how TJ's is ranked #2 for quality https://clark.com/shopping-retail/cheapest-grocery-stores/ https://clark.com/shopping-retail/cheapest-grocery-stores/ . Sure you can't find the junkiest cheapest things like at a Walmart, but if you need actual food basics like fresh organic produce, organic japanese green tea bags, kefir, and salmon lochs, there's almost nowhere cheaper.
  - MagnumOpus 5y ago
    > salmon lochs Lochs (LO-Hs) are scottish lakes, lox (LOKS) are yiddish salmon fillets...
    - reducesuffering 5y ago
      Ah yes. My mind must have just went to the first unusual ‘ks’ spelling, knowing it was an odd one.
realityking 5y ago
> Aldi Nord also operates Lidl stores in the US. That would be fascinating because they’re fierce competitors in Germany. However I couldn’t find a source for this to be true. Instead I found a few articles about Lidl opening a US headquarter[0] and having their own distribution centers. 0: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/mcauliffe-bags-german-grocer-lidl-bringing-hundreds-of-jobs-to-virginia/2015/06/12/0e97704e-1121-11e5-adec-e82f8395c032_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/mcaul...
jmyeet 5y ago
I honestly never understood the appeal of Trader Joe's. I think I'm in the wrong demographic. It seems like they completely nailed their marketing and millenials/zoomers are like moths to a flame with Trader Joe's. I always viewed it as "Zoomer Whole Foods" but that's not accurate. Trader Joe's definitely has a smaller product line and are ruthless with underperforming lines. Still, it's a place I never shop. It is interesting it's owned by the same family though.
- formerkrogemp 5y ago
  They offer a lot of products we couldn't normally get conveniently elsewhere as well where we are.
- vikingerik 5y ago
  The demographic for Trader Joe's is people who want to feel quirky and original about buying groceries, but not by paying Whole Foods prices. They've nailed that marketing position pretty well, yeah.
- mixmastamyk 5y ago
  Nope, GenX grew up on and still loves TJ’s, in SoCal anyway.
- dougmwne 5y ago
  It's processed convenience food that is just a little more healthy or tasty on average than the freezer isle at Walmart. It also tends to be just a little ahead of food trends than your typical grocery store. It has some "cute" branding too. It's for people who rarely cook but don't want a diet of 100% take-out. I think Whole Foods is for people who fancy themselves home chefs.
- bubblethink 5y ago
  It has use in cities like SF that lack better options. They have parking and the prices are cheaper than whole foods and similar stores, and it's better than going to a corner store. That's about it.
deaddodo 5y ago
Aldi and Lidl are German stores/brands that have moved into the US. Trader Joe's is an American-founded and centered company that was owned by an American (for many decades) and then bought by a German brand. They're not exactly the same.
- dougmwne 5y ago
  I mean it was bought by Theo Albrecht on 1979. Pretty must everything about the company's DNA is influenced by its Aldi parent company.
  - spoonjim 5y ago
    Operationally, yes, branding and positioning, no.
mcphage 5y ago
Learning that Trader Joe’s and Aldi’s were so closely related was one of those facts that I never expected, but once I learned it, it made a whole bunch of things click in my head.
Matthias247 5y ago
I'm german and never heard of "Trader Joe's". Seems like it's really an US store, that was acquired by Aldi Nord.
- jsiaajdsdaa 5y ago
  You don't know what you're missin!
- tjansen 5y ago
  It doesn't really look like an Aldi, but Aldi Nord is selling products with under the Trader Joe label even in Germany! https://www.aldi-nord.de/sortiment/snacks-suessigkeiten/nuesse-trockenfruechte/soft-fruechte-3176-0-0.article.html https://www.aldi-nord.de/sortiment/snacks-suessigkeiten/nues...

jwuphysics 5y ago

I agree that Americans love Trader Joe's, but I would by no means consider it to be a cheap grocery store.

georgyo 5y ago
At least in NYC, Trader Joe's is cheaper or comparable with other grocery stores. I spend about half there as I would at a whole foods for a weeks worth of food.
- captainredbeard 5y ago
  It depends on how much processed food you eat
dougmwne 5y ago
My average bills there are close to shopping at Aldi. Here in Florida at least Publix is significantly more expensive.
Rebelgecko 5y ago
My local "regular" grocery store , Ralphs,has several identical items to Trader Joe's (like the exact same orange chicken, salsa, etc with different labels). The TJs version is universally cheaper. It's a bit more expensive than Walmart and the dollar store but arguably a much better value.
reducesuffering 5y ago
It is actually cheap relative to the quality you get, so a lot of value. A linked article from TFA notes how TJ's is ranked #2 for quality https://clark.com/shopping-retail/cheapest-grocery-stores/ https://clark.com/shopping-retail/cheapest-grocery-stores/ . Sure you can't find the junkiest cheapest things like at a Walmart, but if you need actual food basics like fresh organic produce, organic japanese green tea bags, kefir, and salmon lochs, there's almost nowhere cheaper.
- MagnumOpus 5y ago
  > salmon lochs Lochs (LO-Hs) are scottish lakes, lox (LOKS) are yiddish salmon fillets...
  - reducesuffering 5y ago
    Ah yes. My mind must have just went to the first unusual ‘ks’ spelling, knowing it was an odd one.

realityking 5y ago

> Aldi Nord also operates Lidl stores in the US. That would be fascinating because they’re fierce competitors in Germany. However I couldn’t find a source for this to be true. Instead I found a few articles about Lidl opening a US headquarter[0] and having their own distribution centers. 0: https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/mcauliffe-bags-german-grocer-lidl-bringing-hundreds-of-jobs-to-virginia/2015/06/12/0e97704e-1121-11e5-adec-e82f8395c032_story.html https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/virginia-politics/mcaul...

jmyeet 5y ago

I honestly never understood the appeal of Trader Joe's. I think I'm in the wrong demographic. It seems like they completely nailed their marketing and millenials/zoomers are like moths to a flame with Trader Joe's. I always viewed it as "Zoomer Whole Foods" but that's not accurate. Trader Joe's definitely has a smaller product line and are ruthless with underperforming lines. Still, it's a place I never shop. It is interesting it's owned by the same family though.

formerkrogemp 5y ago
They offer a lot of products we couldn't normally get conveniently elsewhere as well where we are.
vikingerik 5y ago
The demographic for Trader Joe's is people who want to feel quirky and original about buying groceries, but not by paying Whole Foods prices. They've nailed that marketing position pretty well, yeah.
mixmastamyk 5y ago
Nope, GenX grew up on and still loves TJ’s, in SoCal anyway.
dougmwne 5y ago
It's processed convenience food that is just a little more healthy or tasty on average than the freezer isle at Walmart. It also tends to be just a little ahead of food trends than your typical grocery store. It has some "cute" branding too. It's for people who rarely cook but don't want a diet of 100% take-out. I think Whole Foods is for people who fancy themselves home chefs.
bubblethink 5y ago
It has use in cities like SF that lack better options. They have parking and the prices are cheaper than whole foods and similar stores, and it's better than going to a corner store. That's about it.

deaddodo 5y ago

Aldi and Lidl are German stores/brands that have moved into the US. Trader Joe's is an American-founded and centered company that was owned by an American (for many decades) and then bought by a German brand. They're not exactly the same.

dougmwne 5y ago
I mean it was bought by Theo Albrecht on 1979. Pretty must everything about the company's DNA is influenced by its Aldi parent company.
- spoonjim 5y ago
  Operationally, yes, branding and positioning, no.

mcphage 5y ago

Learning that Trader Joe’s and Aldi’s were so closely related was one of those facts that I never expected, but once I learned it, it made a whole bunch of things click in my head.

Matthias247 5y ago

I'm german and never heard of "Trader Joe's". Seems like it's really an US store, that was acquired by Aldi Nord.

jsiaajdsdaa 5y ago
You don't know what you're missin!
tjansen 5y ago
It doesn't really look like an Aldi, but Aldi Nord is selling products with under the Trader Joe label even in Germany! https://www.aldi-nord.de/sortiment/snacks-suessigkeiten/nuesse-trockenfruechte/soft-fruechte-3176-0-0.article.html https://www.aldi-nord.de/sortiment/snacks-suessigkeiten/nues...