Image: Bloomberg

In a time when the grocery shopping experience is undergoing a change, in audience, service, and merchandising, a name in the food retail industry is making quite the footprint: ALDI.

Known for their limited assortment of products and discounted prices, ALDI opened their first store in 1954 in Essen-Schonnebeck, Germany by brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht. By 1960, the brothers had built the brand into a chain of 300 stores, and decided to split the business into two operations: ALDI Nord and ALDI Süd.

Today, ALDI Nord operates 2,500 stores in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, France, Poland, Spain, Denmark, and Portugal, as well as specialty grocery chain Trader Joe’s in the U.S.; ALDI Süd operates 1,600 stores throughout the U.S., Austria, Slovenia, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, and Switzerland.

While the company used to only provide a bare-bones shopping experience for the neediest customers, ALDI has evolved into a grocery store that combines contemporary design with on-trend merchandise, using its carefully crafted discount model to its advantage. Customers can buy almost everything they need at ALDI’s, from fresh produce and meat to wine and beer to even a selection of home goods.

Now, shopping at ALDI’s is an experience, and its discounted selection is not just for the budget-conscious customer. It’s for anyone who likes paying less for their groceries.

Expansive Selection

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Image: Glassdoor

The company has smartly expanded its product selection to include more specialty items under their Specialty Select house brand and merchandise catered to the health-conscious shopper, with private brands concentrating around gluten-free, better-for-you, and natural and organic products.

Forbes recently reported that Aldi is reconfiguring its checkout selection, replacing sugary snacks with healthier items. For example, chocolates and candy bars will be swapped for single-serve packages of nuts, trail mixes, dried fruits, and granola bars.

“By introducing healthier checklanes and through a number of other initiatives, we are doing our part to remove temptation at checkout and stocking stores with even more nutritious options,” said Jason Hart, CEO of ALDI.

He continues, “At ALDI, we truly care about our customers, and we’re responding with guilt-free checkout zones and increased food options they can feel good about.”

In addition to healthier checkout lanes, ALDI is increasing the amount of fresh food being offered, placing emphasis on produce, meats, and organic fare located on the perimeter inside of its stores over the packaged and processed foods located in their centers.

The company is also ensuring that its dairy products are without artificial growth hormones, and its private-label offerings are free from synthetic colors, added MSG, and partially hydrogenated oils.

This has allowed ALDI to increase its customer base to include those shoppers who would normally go to Whole Foods Market WFM or other specialty retailers.

How Does ALDI Keep Their Prices So Low?

By doing a number of things.

One of the biggest reasons behind the company’s discount business model is that 90% of the products are ALDI-exclusive brands, letting the grocer provide high-quality product without the hidden costs of advertising and marketing usually associated with national name brands.

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