It’s time to come clean and admit that I sometimes shop at Aldi.
For those who aren’t aware Aldi is perhaps the ultimate in generic grocery stores. Everything is house-brand, outside of one or two random special purchases, and prices are generally really cheap. Trader Joe’s is essentially the same model (and owned by the same company here in the US) but with arguably higher-end stuff.
But back when I was a kid, Aldi had a bad reputation and with good reason. Our local store was always a mess, the lighting was bad, and the products were a little scary. Things have seemed to improve lately; we got a newish Aldi in town and it’s clean, well-lit, and the stuff is pretty good.
Perhaps my favorite find at Aldi remains their chocolate chip cookies. Their Belmont brand is identical to Matt’s, one of my favorite store-bought cookies. They’re the same thing in a different package. Same company. Same everything. And yet, they’re $1-$2 less.
I can deal with that.
Posted in Consumer Commentary
jk August 23, 2008, 3:19 am
Really? There is a new one here and I was weirded out by the random brands. You encouraged me to look there again, especially since there is still no TJ’s within 50 miles of here.