To this day, I have never stepped into an Aldi Food Store. To tell you the truth, I don’t know why that is. I suppose since there is not one located conveniently near me, I simply never went out of my way to try one out. Plus, until now I really never had a reason to go. After all, it was just an ‘Aldi’.
Why now, all of sudden, do I feel the desire to go to an Aldi? Well, I just read this article that talks about a new direction that the food store is heading, which is something that has piqued my interest. Aldi stores are graduating to more organic pastures, while stripping away much of the junk that they have previously been stocking.
The company will continue to operate in a cost effective manner when it comes to how it stocks its merchandise (similar to Price Rite). And you have to supply your own shopping bags (something that every food market should require), among other cost saving practices.
More than the streamlined business practices and other efficient ways to keep costs down, I am happy to hear about all of the healthy initiatives that Aldi is taking. According to the article, Aldi is beating Walmart to the ‘price punch’ on numerous fresh produce and packaged goods items, and is stepping up its pace to become a leader in the health food industry. Aldi is even taking strides to compete with 365 By Whole Foods Market. Along with organic and healthier foods, Aldi is beginning to carry higher quality food options in order to attract a new shopping demographic. The company is literally attempting to shed its old tired image, by reinventing itself as a lean, green, hormone free, low cost, health conscious market with modern, hip and progressive sensibilities.
There was a time when I recall BRO readers saying, “As long as it’s not an Aldis!” when news of a supermarket was opening in the Elmwood Village. At the time, I agreed. Now I’m kinda bummed that I don’t live near one. Someday that could change, as the chain is ramping up by its number of locations. According to Business Insider (via Yahoo! Finance), “Aldi has about 1,500 stores in the US and has plans to open roughly 500 more stores over the next two years as part of a $3 billion expansion.”