Why does Aldi have such horrible produce?

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It depends on where you live.
Aldi is for poor people
Not in Australia it ain't. The only Aldi detractors over here are either snobs or people who are bamboozled by how it works.

I've found Aldi's fresh produce is no worse than the major supermarkets, and in some cases it's better. I've lost count of the number of times I've bought chicken from Woolworths that's gone bad within 24 hours of purchase, even if the use-by date still has a few days left to run. I've never had that problem with Aldi.

That being said, I prefer to use the money I save by going to Aldi and spending it at the local butcher or fruit and veg shop instead.

The only problems I have with Aldi are (a) I have to avoid their chocolate at all costs because it's so delicious I'd be at serious risk of diabeetus with the amount of the stuff I can consume in one sitting, and (b) the random shit in the middle aisle is a wealth hazard.

One thing Aldi doesn't get anywhere nearly enough credit for: it's the perfect supermarket for autists and people with ADHD. No music in the background and only one brand of everything makes it very easy to shop there.
 
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Isn't Aldi the store that makes you put a quarter in your shopping cart so you don't leave it or something? Always found that odd, I mean I'm assuming it works but it just seems silly.
 
Isn't Aldi the store that makes you put a quarter in your shopping cart so you don't leave it or something? Always found that odd, I mean I'm assuming it works but it just seems silly.
It's actually kinda genius. You may notice Aldi's keeps the carts near the entrance instead of cart corrals spread in the parking lot and they don't need attendants. Why is that?

Well you want your quarter back don't you? Go return the cart, plug it back into the chain, and get your quarter back. Boom. You just saved Aldi's the need to pay some dude to make sure people aren't leaving the carts around all willy-nilly and lowered the odds some bum makes off with the cart.
 
It's actually kinda genius. You may notice Aldi's keeps the carts near the entrance instead of cart corrals spread in the parking lot and they don't need attendants. Why is that?

Well you want your quarter back don't you? Go return the cart, plug it back into the chain, and get your quarter back. Boom. You just saved Aldi's the need to pay some dude to make sure people aren't leaving the carts around all willy-nilly and lowered the odds some bum makes off with the cart.
Ah I'm a retard, I was operating off the logic of "well it's a quarter, who the hell cares nowadays?". I guess it would be rather inconvenient to bring a new quarter every time, even more so than just bringing the cart back.
 
Ah I'm a retard, I was operating off the logic of "well it's a quarter, who the hell cares nowadays?". I guess it would be rather inconvenient to bring a new quarter every time, even more so than just bringing the cart back.
One of the dairy companies does something similar here. It's priced about a buck over the other gallons, but they ship it in glass bottles they reuse for their lemonade as well, and you can take the bottle back and get a $2 return for the bottle deposit. You get your milk, it's superior quality if you're talking the chocolate milk, and it's not stored in a plastic container over glass so the taste keeps better.
 
Ah I'm a retard, I was operating off the logic of "well it's a quarter, who the hell cares nowadays?". I guess it would be rather inconvenient to bring a new quarter every time, even more so than just bringing the cart back.
All of the major supermarkets here do it. Whether or not people return their trolley depends a lot on whether they've used a $1 or $2 coin. A lot of people don't bother if it's a $1 coin so there are still staff rounding up the trolleys in the carpark.

Some supermarkets in affluent suburbs don't require a coin but their trolleys have wheels which lock once they're a certain distance from the store, which can be a nuisance if you haven't been able to get a close parking spot.
 
It depends on location (within the US). Some are better managed than others. On the other hand the ghetto ones can have amazing 75-90% discounts on safe stuff like the seasonal items.

Usually if I see produce problems it's with the sacks of potatoes or onions in a big cardboard bin. Many other items are fine.
 
One thing Aldi doesn't get anywhere nearly enough credit for: it's the perfect supermarket for autists and people with ADHD. No music in the background and only one brand of everything makes it very easy to shop there.
German design and engineering at its best.
 
There's a few things with Aldi. For one, there are two variants, Aldi North and Aldi South. They split in the 60s because one of the brothers wanted to sell cigarettes and the other didn't. (Or that's the rumor.) Most countries only get one or the other, so unless you're a Kraut (or a Doner?) or a Burger, you get what you get.

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But in the States, that's where it gets weird. In the late 70s, Aldi North bought Trader Joe's, and have run it as its own unit since then.

Aldi South also began its incursion into the States in the 70s in Iowa, but using its own branding. It more closely follows the Aldi model you see elsewhere in the world.

In the States, I will go for staples and shelf stable product at Aldi all day, and even their dairy and eggs are fine. The Aldi Finds grocery product (limited run rotating items) can be good, if it's to your tastes. I've had mixed results with the produce and generally prefer to go to a local grocer for fresh fruit and veg when I can. It's partly about the distances to the DC, and partly about how they source produce in the US. (Others up thread have discussed it.) Save for their meat selection. I've found Aldi in other countries to have better produce, although it seems that's not universal. Heck, I think in Germany, they had stuff like in store bakeries, as opposed to a central bakery that ships to store in the US.

For Trader Joe's, it's all great, if at times a bit overpriced.
 
if you aren't a ventablack nigger you can check the produce and just take fresh ones, aldi is pretty good if you know what you want
 
normally this means they are understaffed and cant keep up with sorting out the bad produce.

Real supermarkets have a dedicated produce department where they train people to properly merchandise produce, cycle out product, and apply discounts when necessary (usually when stuff like strawberries has a big sale, several went bad and they're trying to liquidate that whole lot so they don't all spoil on the shelves). Walmart has a Fresh Area team lead, which I think does pre-pack meat as well, and they generally don't have it together like a good supermarket would.

If produce at a store sucks it's either because their manager is incompetent (or powerless as far as supply chain goes) or they don't have one at all. At Aldi, it's the latter. They routinely keep bare-bones staffing to the point where the lines could stretch into the aisles and they finally open up a second one, with all employees effectively doing everything, from checkout to stocking. This means that they don't have the resources or training to actually make sure the produce is properly rotated and maintained. Similar issues happen in dollar stores and convenience stores.
 
Aldi is good for frozen veggies and miscellaneous novel cheeses. I've bought more of that white stilton with mango and ginger than I'd care to admit. Black garlic cheddar last Halloween, but not this year. Burger Aldi has snapdragon apples and they are delicious, too.
 
Aldi doesn't have the shitty phone app that entices you with extra discounts and collects your disgusting food habits

They also don't shrink their chocolate bar while simultaenously jacking up their price.

Aldi > everything else
 
Burger here. Our Aldi has better salmon than Whole Foods and the local fishmonger (which sold out a few years back and hasn’t been the same since). The produce from the standard regional chain grocery rots immediately, too. This was the first season in all my years of shopping/cooking for a family that the peaches and nectarines ripened in texture without ripening in sweetness and flavor. It’s bad out there.
 
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