German grocery stores, your cup of tea?

"El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First!" (lightningzone) 01/01/2019 at 05:53 • Filed to: None

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Before I left the US, it never occurred to me to shop at Aldi. It was simply too discount-y and focused on private brands for me. But Aldi and its doppelgänger who recently entered the US market, Lidl, are pretty big in Europe. That being said, I found myself shopping at these places a few times and they’re not too bad. Of course, around here, I prefer supermarkets with more variety, like French Carrefour and Auchan and the local Spanish chain, Mercadona. But when you’re in a hurry, you can’t be too picky.

It’s also interesting how Aldi and Lidl seem to be in a contusions expansion mode, while other supermarket chains only expand when it makes sense.

pip bip - choose Corrour > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 01/01/2019 at 06:18

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i shop at Aldi a lot as they’re on my way home from work and cheap, plus the food is fine

My hovercraft is full of eels > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 01/01/2019 at 06:33

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I prefer Aldi to its two competitors on the local market (Lidl and Penny Market). Some of our products are pretty good, so I’d do my entire shopping there. The only problem is: there’s no Aldi store in walking distance from my home, and I rarely get in the car just to do some shopping.

The other two major options besides the three aforementioned chains are Tesco and Spar/Interspar, which are more conventional supermarkets . The latter is OK, but Tesco is kinda low-end here.

kanadanmajava1 > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 01/01/2019 at 06:40

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Lidl has been in Finland for ~15 years. The rest of our supermarkets are still Finnish supermarkets. Lidl is usua lly the cheapest but their selection is different what others are offering. They import everything except the milk from abroad. Their stores are usually placed separately from the rest .

Rather annoyingly they also use a different bottle/can recycling system than the Finnish stores. You have to bring Lidl stuff to Lidl store to get your money back (0.1-0.4 e ) . The other bottles and cans you can return to any store (also to Lidl) and get your money back.

Lidl’s selection also varies quite a lot so on one week you might find a lot of good cheese types from Central Europe but on the next week you might find nothing .

MiniGTI - now with XJ6 > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 01/01/2019 at 07:44

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Definitely go to Aldi pretty often as we like it and it’s very close to the house.  Yes selection is smaller but I prefer it that way.  I hate having too many choices ha. Many of the local stores have been freshly remodeled and look nice too.

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 01/01/2019 at 08:18

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Eh, I’ll go to Aldi on occasion, but it’s not a place that I would go out of my way to go to. Part of the problem is that the local one is in a pretty poor neighborhood and I’m tired of being hit up for cash every time I stop there. And, like other low SKU stores like Save A Lot, I find the quality to be a little lower on average than other stores. Sometimes they have some great products, especially cheese, but availability is sporadic. We don’t have Lidl in the US, but maybe they’ll show up someday. Another low SKU chain, Ruler Foods, has higher quality products on average, but they’re not German.

Trader Joe’s, which is part of one of the Aldi chains, is the best of all worlds - great prices and superior quality along with fantastic service. But like a lot of good stores, they don’t have any locations in the poorer neighborhoods like mine , so I have to drive to get good food.

BrianGriffin thinks “reliable” is just a state of mind > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 01/01/2019 at 08:20

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I pretty much shop at Aldi exclusively. They have what I want, more cheaply and less overwhelmingly that other major stores. The quality is often better than store brands at other major retailers. 

KnowsAboutCars > kanadanmajava1 01/01/2019 at 09:28

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I very rarely find myself in Lidl. I like to buy domestic and from what I’ve heard the quality of products isn’t amazing (hence the lower price).

El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 01/01/2019 at 09:40

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We d0 have Lidl in the US.

smobgirl > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 01/01/2019 at 09:47

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I love the snack food selection at Aldi and Lidl. Never tried using them for actual groceries because we don’t have either in Colorado. Compared to the east coast our grocery store options are pretty restricted out here. 

shop-teacher > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 01/01/2019 at 09:54

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We do almost all our grocery shopping at Aldi, and have for a couple years now. I only go to a conventional grocery store every now and again, when we need something specific that Aldi doesn’t have. We save a bunch of money, and also time. I’ve grown to hate going to a conventional store, because they’re so friggin big! It takes forever to find what you want.

I haven't seen a Lidl yet, and I doubt I will for some time. Aldi's headquarters is nearby, so they're all over the place around here.

Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 01/01/2019 at 10:05

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We definitely have Lidl, we just got one. 

Phyrxes once again has a wagon! > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 01/01/2019 at 10:34

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We have an Aldi, Lidl, and Wegmans all in reasonable close proximity to our house or daily commutes. We generally hit Lidl for the staples that we aren’t getting at the wholesale club while Wegmans is the go to for something specific or “random” as they seemingly carry everything.

We stopped going to Aldi after they opened the Lidl, and generally we avoid all the other grocery stores in our area (Harris Teeter, Giant, FoodLion, and Safeway).

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > Jordan and the Slowrunner, Boomer Intensifies 01/01/2019 at 10:53

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Did not know that, but it comes as no surprise. I’ve been going to Aldi for years here in the Midwest, but my folks, back in California, just recently started getting them. Now that they’re retired they’re looking to save money wherever possible, so it’s no surprise that Aldi is in an area right near a big retirement community...

themanwithsauce - has as many vehicles as job titles > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 01/01/2019 at 11:51

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If I didn't live in Grand rapids, MI, I'd shop at Aldi more. Meijer is our store brand and not only is their HQ in our town, so is their food development center as well as their clothing and furniture R&D center. So uh....yeah they take their in store branding pretty seriously. Prices are higher than Aldi but the selection is much higher and so is quality. 

MrDakka > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 01/01/2019 at 12:42

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Never been, I assume that like their cars, all the products are alphanumerically designated for supremely efficient organization.

RacinBob > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 01/01/2019 at 12:47

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O ver time I found that although they don’t carry everything I need, but what they carry is at good price and superior quality. As an example, a family friend who is a manager for Hormel told me that they make the Aldi brand chili and that Aldi’s spec for ingredients (meat etc) was higher than theirs. Their strategy it appears to me good or superior products at superior price.

W ith that in mind we stop there every 2 weeks and I base load on;

Wine - Good french, Italian and Spanish wines at $4. 99 to $5.99 a bottle.

Breakfast cerea l - Their “H oney Crunches and Oats” and Granola Rai si n Bran is the same product as sold in my grocery store for 1/2 the price.

Meat - In recent weeks I have gotten Rack of Lamb, Salmon, Corned Beef at prices that simply the neighborhood store can’t touch. And the quality is good. We rotisseried a 4 pound chicken at less than $4 the other night.

Fruits and vegatables and cheese - They don’t have everything, but what they have is good. For example their sweet corn is excellent.

Their Specials - I swear there is an Aldi buying team chartered with buying unique products at very good prices. My blutooth speaker which I love is an Al di product. Right now my store has a 2Kw inverter generator for $230. This is 1/2 the price for the same generator sold by Harbor Freight. It kills me to not buy it but I just don’t need a generator.

I think to get your head around Aldi, think volume, high quality, with demonstrably lower price. Remember they buy by the train load. Also remember, Aldi is owned by the same Family as Trader Joes....

oldmxer > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 01/01/2019 at 13:05

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great place to stock up on basics, plus everything i’ve bought there has been good so far

nermal > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 01/01/2019 at 13:41

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I tried doing the Aldi thing, but their food tastes funny. I think it’s due to all of the preservatives. Anything un-fresh will have an expiration date 2 years out.

You can get a pound of chicken breasts there, and they’ll shrivel up to nothing after you cook them up. There’s sooooooo much water injected into them, it all just evaporates.

I’d rather spend twice as much at a “better” brand store for better quality. 

UnderSTeerEnthusiast - Triumph Fanboy > El Relámpago(LZone) - Humanity First! 01/01/2019 at 18:28

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I stopped shopping at Aldi when I met my girlfriend because she has an employee discount for Kroger (she works corporate) that makes our shopping trips cheap there. If we moved to an area without Kroger, I’d consider it. It’s been helpful because since I know the brand, if I need something quick or cheap or just want to get shopping done when I’m somewhere new in Europe, it’s a familiar name that I know I can get things from.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > nermal 01/02/2019 at 15:37

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I wonder if the chicken breasts are smaller because they’re hormone-free. The frozen chicken breasts from Walmart are mutant-sized!

From Aldi’s site:

No Antibiotics, Ever!
100% Vegetarian Fed
Raised Cage Free**
No Added Hormones or Steroids***

From WSJ article:

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > smobgirl 01/02/2019 at 15:38

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I buy so many boxes of these whenever we go:

nermal > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 01/02/2019 at 17:25

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Here’s a pic I found from the internet - contains “up to” 15% “Chicken Broth”.

So, basically, you’re only getting 85% chicken with your chicken. It’s worth the cost to pay more to get 100% chicken. All that extra water does is evaporate when it cooks anyways.

Also, note the note for the *** from their website:

***Federal regulation prohibit the use of added hormones or steroids in chicken.  

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > nermal 01/03/2019 at 09:05

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Aha...