Any ALDI shoppers out there

[The Yeti]

Originally Posted by The Monty

We started off doing about 50/50 shopping at ALDI and Coles/Woolies. Now we shop about 95% at Aldi, onlt reason not 100% is because Coles is literally 200m away and sometimes we stop for stuff after work.

we're basically the same for us coles woolies and Aldi are all a 6.5km trip (give or take 200mm depending on which you choose

If my wife calls me while I'm at a fire I'll walk across the road from the station when we get back because woolies is just there, other wise its 90+ percent at Aldi

Fruit & Veg is from the local grocer or farmers market (wife drives past the shed door every day on the way home so if shes on time the F&V comes from there)

Meat is from the butcher (though we do use some of the Aldi cryo packed meat from time to time

Hell I even noticed post vasectomy that aldi even stock prophylactic's

[Giant Cranium]

im a big fan, i wish they had them in NYC, most of the food is Australian and all the meat, veg and dairy are, most of the other products are identical to the big brands just in different packaging, the dairy has won awards at the sydney easter show which is a blind taste test. we always just took our own reusable bags and it took 2 mins to pack. we did 95% of our shopping at aldi.

and by tempted hating it is all the review that anyone needs, can't believe he isn't a fan of australian produce just because he can't look past some packaging, lucky none of the big companies have never had some bugs in the food, on that note i have never had to throw away any fresh produce from aldi, from the other 3 I've thrown away heaps of fresh fruit and veg that has gone mushy or had mould after opening them

[blueoval]

Originally Posted by Giant Cranium

im a big fan, i wish they had them in NYC, most of the food is Australian and all the meat, veg and dairy are, most of the other products are identical to the big brands just in different packaging, the dairy has won awards at the sydney easter show which is a blind taste test. we always just took our own reusable bags and it took 2 mins to pack. we did 95% of our shopping at aldi.

and by tempted hating it is all the review that anyone needs, can't believe he isn't a fan of australian produce just because he can't look past some packaging, lucky none of the big companies have never had some bugs in the food, on that note i have never had to throw away any fresh produce from aldi, from the other 3 I've thrown away heaps of fresh fruit and veg that has gone mushy or had mould after opening them

If you look at the recent salmonella poisoning from woolies/coles lettuce in a bag, it tells me enough. Not saying ALDI are immune to this, just that just because it's brand named doesnt mean its better.

http://www.smh.com.au/business/consu...04-gmm7xv.html

[The Yeti]

Originally Posted by tempted

Any South Australians here.... I wouldn't get too excited about Aldi. Once the novelty wears off you will see that it's a horrible place that sells cheap & nasty generic garbage.

Not unlike the Woolworths select range of stuff that is now taking up a vast majority of premium shelf space.

Originally Posted by tempted

I really can't see what the attraction is. Hardly anything is on shelves. Its all in boxes or pallets on the floor.

How does this affect the quality of the goods in anyway shape or form?

Originally Posted by tempted

You line up for what seems like an eternity as they usually have only one checkout open.

I'll give you this one, but my aldi's pretty quick to open a second third forth etc as the people line up more than 2 deep so its never an eternity, and really not much different than waiting for a check out at Coles or woolies when they have 1 open and 6 self serve checkouts open (Which are a massive PITA and I wont use them unless the item has a bar code)

Originally Posted by tempted

they do not provide free bags and just throw your stuff into the trolley loosely making you pack it into your own bags yourself,

whats the problem here? I grab a box or two on my way round and have reusable bags to pack n go in the car aside from the free part (that you pay for indirectly at coles / woolies) I dont have a problem

Originally Posted by tempted

then add extra fees if you pay by eftpos for the privellige.

acutally thats only for credit cards you dont pay a fee if your using eftpos off your savings or cheque accounts

Originally Posted by tempted

The brands are all generic garbage with unheard of names with no reputation and of questionable quality (which I flat out refuse to eat) and there have been several reported cases of maggot infestations and foreign objects found in their products.

No different to the coles or woolworths store brands they push on you EXCEPT a larger portion of Aldi's store brands are made in australia than coles or woolies equivalent. as for infestation and magots LMFAO have you not heard of the salmonella salads at coles or woolies? aldi hasn't been named yet, like wise the live spider in the woolies salad bag that was on the news this morning?

http://www.smh.com.au/business/consu...04-gmlqwd.html

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-02-0...stomer/7142270

Originally Posted by tempted

suck people into their stores with cheap nasty items such as tools, electrical items and various other goods which are about as good as the Chinese junk you would find in a $2 shop and can be throw away after a couple of uses.

Some of this stuff is junk no question, but then if you have your eyes open whats the problem, lets face it a $10 set of ring spanners is never going to be snap on quality

Originally Posted by tempted

I avoid Aldi like the plague even though there is one virtually on my doorstep. I will stick with Woolies and Coles for my shop. They may not be the most ethical companies out there but at least their supermarkets are properly laid out, have the products and brands I want and the service I request for which I am happy to pay a little extra for. Aldi only seems to appeal to cheapskates and penny pinchers who are happy to eat any sort of crap.

I guess I'm a cheapskate penny pincher because store layout is all over the shop at my coles and woolies and I find the aldi shops flow quite well

[FairmontGS]

Great store - switched a few years ago. It's the same stuff as sold by ColesWorth, just 30% cheaper.

[FairmontGS]

Originally Posted by tempted

Any South Australians here.... I wouldn't get too excited about Aldi. Once the novelty wears off you will see that it's a horrible place that sells cheap & nasty generic garbage.
I really can't see what the attraction is. Hardly anything is on shelves. Its all in boxes or pallets on the floor. You line up for what seems like an eternity as they usually have only one checkout open, they do not provide free bags and just throw your stuff into the trolley loosely making you pack it into your own bags yourself, then add extra fees if you pay by eftpos for the privellige.
The brands are all generic garbage with unheard of names with no reputation and of questionable quality (which I flat out refuse to eat) and there have been several reported cases of maggot infestations and foreign objects found in their products.
They suck people into their stores with cheap nasty items such as tools, electrical items and various other goods which are about as good as the Chinese junk you would find in a $2 shop and can be throw away after a couple of uses.
I avoid Aldi like the plague even though there is one virtually on my doorstep. I will stick with Woolies and Coles for my shop. They may not be the most ethical companies out there but at least their supermarkets are properly laid out, have the products and brands I want and the service I request for which I am happy to pay a little extra for. Aldi only seems to appeal to cheapskates and penny pinchers who are happy to eat any sort of crap.

Well your comments have vindicated my decision

[CoupeKing]

You don't even have to shop there to benefit. They force the others to lower their prices and create 'everyday' prices.

And I still refuse to use the self-checkout.

[RANGEREST]

Originally Posted by tempted

Any South Australians here.... I wouldn't get too excited about Aldi. Once the novelty wears off you will see that it's a horrible place that sells cheap & nasty generic garbage.
I really can't see what the attraction is. Hardly anything is on shelves. Its all in boxes or pallets on the floor. You line up for what seems like an eternity as they usually have only one checkout open, they do not provide free bags and just throw your stuff into the trolley loosely making you pack it into your own bags yourself, then add extra fees if you pay by eftpos for the privellige.
The brands are all generic garbage with unheard of names with no reputation and of questionable quality (which I flat out refuse to eat) and there have been several reported cases of maggot infestations and foreign objects found in their products.
They suck people into their stores with cheap nasty items such as tools, electrical items and various other goods which are about as good as the Chinese junk you would find in a $2 shop and can be throw away after a couple of uses.
I avoid Aldi like the plague even though there is one virtually on my doorstep. I will stick with Woolies and Coles for my shop. They may not be the most ethical companies out there but at least their supermarkets are properly laid out, have the products and brands I want and the service I request for which I am happy to pay a little extra for. Aldi only seems to appeal to cheapskates and penny pinchers who are happy to eat any sort of crap.

OMFG Yet another thing you don't like.
Im going to make this easier on myself, Ignore list.

[OzriderXR8]

We buy some of our stuff at Aldi, some of their home brand products are clearly manufactured by some of the big brand companies just rebadged.

My favourites....Their Ice Cream and Icypoles are cheap and as good as anything else, their porridge is dirt cheap and exactly the same as the Uncle Toby's at 4 times the price. Our local is great for meat, fruit and Veg, however, the one in the next suburb is crap.

Some of their "'Special Buy' stuff is garbage, other stuff is awesome.

No matter what you buy, if you don't like it and have the receipt they will refund it.

[The Monty]

Be careful with ignore lists. Mine are so full that at times I have no idea whats going on in threads/facebook lol.

[Franco Cozzo]

Originally Posted by blueoval

If you look at the recent salmonella poisoning from woolies/coles lettuce in a bag, it tells me enough. Not saying ALDI are immune to this, just that just because it's brand named doesnt mean its better.

http://www.smh.com.au/business/consu...04-gmm7xv.html

Its all grown in Bacchus Marsh here in Vic, if you've been there you wouldn't eat anything that comes out of that joint

[JC]

Originally Posted by OzriderXR8

We buy some of our stuff at Aldi, some of their home brand products are clearly manufactured by some of the big brand companies just rebadged.

My favourites....Their Ice Cream and Icypoles are cheap and as good as anything else, their porridge is dirt cheap and exactly the same as the Uncle Toby's at 4 times the price. Our local is great for meat, fruit and Veg, however, the one in the next suburb is crap.

Some of their "'Special Buy' stuff is garbage, other stuff is awesome.

No matter what you buy, if you don't like it and have the receipt they will refund it.

Not to mention their beer. I'm a spirits drinker, but my 2 favourite beers are Aldi's cape something blonde at $33 per case, and Fraser Briggs (made in the same brewery as James Boags) also at $33 per case.

And their "Summer Delight" Ice creams are gaytimes by any other name, and taste just as good.

We get about half our groceries from Aldi, the rest from woolies.

[GT0132]

Things we've tried that are pretty good

- Fresh chilled orange juice
- Indian/Thai ready made meals at $3.99 each
- Fruit & Nut chocolate
- Pork Belly (when you can get it)
- Camembert and Brie cheese
- Frozen crumbed chicken
- Premium ice cream
- Jars of Asian stir fry sauces
- Sparkling water (flavoured)


Things I've tried and never again

- Their sourdough bread
- Packaged rocket or other salads
- Tea and coffee
- Fish fingers
- A French brand of beer that looks like Stella
- Bacon shortcuts
- Their quiches

[Beastie]

My name is Tom and I'm an Aldi shopper......

Admittedly, my better half does most of the grocery shopping, but I love going to Aldi with the mrs....

Their range is pretty good and every now and then, they have fishing gear on sale!!!

[commodorenutt]

With my work, I've had a lot of exposure to the Food & Beverage manufacturing industry.

Several well-known big brands not only run their product on their lines, but they also run a batch through and package it in Aldi packaging. Those who have bought some products & thought "gee, this tastes/looks/feels exactly the same as brand xyz" will probably realise it is brand xyz in a plain wrapper.

I know a couple of farmers who won't succumb to coles/woolies demands for unsustainable pricing. They sell all their product to Aldi, at a fair price, and Aldi sell it to the customer without drastic profiteering.

I am a bit of a master of the BBQ (charcoal) and their scotch fillet steaks are as good, if not better than the local butcher, and streets ahead of the big 2 ripoffs. Their lamb is good too. But the killer is the chicken. They have a marinated chicken in a bag - about $10, and when you cook it on the rotisserie over charcoal, it's the most juicy, tender, and moist chicken you'll have ever tried. We don't go to the local charcoal chicken place anymore, as theirs is crap by comparison (yet they're always winning awards). I have tried chickens straight from the farms in western Sydney, and many other "organic" sources, and none are as good as the Aldi ones.

There's stuff I won't buy from there, but there's plenty of good stuff that's equal or better than other places.

It's just that some people can't get past the stigma.....

[xisled]

I refuse to shop at Aldi.

Went to Aldi around 6 months ago because the gf loves Aldi. Walked into the local store and it felt like I had walked into a second rate super market. The shop it felt very run down, and items just dumped in any space, items looked like they had been just thrown on the shelfs and floor.

Compared that to the 8 or so Coles Woolworths in driving distance of my house, the stores are clean well maintained.

Sometimes price is not always a big factor to me.

Range Aldi lack a lot of the products we buy and shopping at the local Aldi feels like we are at a reject shop or NQR.

[FairmontGS]

There are definitely some things that I don't get from ALDI - men's shavers for instance, wife's shampoo and conditioner, deodorants. The rest is same quality as ColesWorth. Meat is far superior and so cheap.

[LG17]

It's amazing the closed minds that some folk have.


I have a closed mind on some things - tinned tuna is one of them.
Isn't that for cats?

[xxx000]

Aldi stores make shopping easier. They don't have aisle after aisle with 6 different choices of each product, instead they have perhaps 2 and each one is good quality.

They package their stuff in boxes that look far more attractive than other stores generic brands.

Far more of their products are Australian made than the majors.

If you want to spend an hour shopping by all means go to Coles or Woolies and spend 5 minutes making each choice of product.
I'm very happy with Aldi quality and product range and how they don't have shelves almost to the ceiling in the stores.
We save substantial amounts of money and eat better than if we shopped at the other two.
I describe it as David Jones quality at cheaper than Franklins prices.

'Tempted' are you sure your name isn't Dick Smith, he's the #1 Aldi hater and yet has been forced to apologise for some of his inaccurate statements about them

[xxx000]

Originally Posted by commodorenutt

With my work, I've had a lot of exposure to the Food & Beverage manufacturing industry.

Several well-known big brands not only run their product on their lines, but they also run a batch through and package it in Aldi packaging. Those who have bought some products & thought "gee, this tastes/looks/feels exactly the same as brand xyz" will probably realise it is brand xyz in a plain wrapper.

I know a couple of farmers who won't succumb to coles/woolies demands for unsustainable pricing. They sell all their product to Aldi, at a fair price, and Aldi sell it to the customer without drastic profiteering.

I am a bit of a master of the BBQ (charcoal) and their scotch fillet steaks are as good, if not better than the local butcher, and streets ahead of the big 2 ripoffs. Their lamb is good too. But the killer is the chicken. They have a marinated chicken in a bag - about $10, and when you cook it on the rotisserie over charcoal, it's the most juicy, tender, and moist chicken you'll have ever tried. We don't go to the local charcoal chicken place anymore, as theirs is crap by comparison (yet they're always winning awards). I have tried chickens straight from the farms in western Sydney, and many other "organic" sources, and none are as good as the Aldi ones.

There's stuff I won't buy from there, but there's plenty of good stuff that's equal or better than other places.

It's just that some people can't get past the stigma.....

Spot on Mick.
I laugh at the excuse used by some that Aldi doesn't have enough choices. How many choices do people need? Most have their favourites anyway and grab it each time. Too many have been conditioned to believe the majors do it right and that no other way can be better.

[xxx000]

http://www.smartcompany.com.au/finan...australia.html

Seems they're very open and transparent about tax paid here. But hey let's not stop throwing the mud at them based on guesses.

[Beastie]

Those Aldi chicken split wings are sensational!!!

My favorite is the Moroccan flavour

[roKWiz]

Originally Posted by tempted

Coles and Woolworths despite their percieved shortcomings are still wholly Australian owned companies who have contributed more to the Australian economy over the years than Aldi could ever dream of.

Hey tempted,
Maybe you should read Owner/Driver magazine to find out what upstanding companies Coles and Woolies really are.
The way they push unrealistic pay and delivery times on drivers which has contributed to so many road accidents here.
IGA and Aldi have formal "chain of responsibilities" contracts with owner operators.
I shop 60% Aldi and 40% IGA. I like IGA due to their locally sourced meats and veg.
Love the Aldi Titan bars as they're not as sugary as Mars.

[The Yeti]

Actually tempted talking about Aldi tellys I have 2 I got them because they were cheap

And I didn't want to fork out on a big name ,h,d TV when I new smart TVa were around the corner

5 years on they are still going strong and the part I was least confident of in the built in DVD player hasn't missed a beat

I'll buy a smart telly when these die

Probably an Aldi one at the way these have gone

Much better than the LG telly I got from a proper shop 4 years earlier that dropped its bundle and was out of warranty

As for the scotch fillet omg how goods that and about 1/2 the price of the butcher and Coles and woolies, the marrnated chook bags are good as well we do them and put it through salads for the kids lunches

And don't tell my mrs but I've been known to smash an Aldi $3 pizza for lunch from time to time (work from home) so it's easy to beat one up and go

[LG17]

Originally Posted by tempted

I have shopped at Aldi several times, compared a wide variety of their products to the major brands and in my opinion found their products to be of poor quality in comparison.
The whole Aldi experience does not appeal to me and I prefer to buy branded products from proper supermarkets.
How does this make me closed minded?
If I had a closed mind I would have refused to even enter an Aldi store in the first place.
If you like the crap that they sell then by all means continue shopping there, nobody is stopping you.

1. Didn't say I shopped there.
2. Didn't say you had a closed mind.

But if the cap fits...

[The Yeti]

I would have said he does

[CoupeKing]

Not sure If I posted on this or another thread a while back, but the first time I shopped at Aldi - well it was like shopping in a dog-box. Cartons and packets everywhere, dirty, bad-lighting, probably looked similar to the warehouse that the stuff was picked more so than a grocery store. And a lot of it was imported. This was at one store only though.

Things have changed. Heaps of locally sourced products and just as many from kiwi-land. NZ potato chips destroy local stuff (one company grow potatoes on-site), and their biscuits are nice too. I havn't tried much of Aldi's meat selection though.

I shop at Coles/woolies/Sims and Aldi. They have their good points and bad points. Shop around the specials, especially meat if you want to save $. I try and make it a habit now not to buy meat unless it's half-price, or close to that. Utilize your freezer for both meat/fruit and vegetables. I got a killer system in place at the moment.

[sprintman1]

Aldi have some killer products but Costco have more and better. Bloody hard to walk through Costco and not spend a $100 or more

[Benno91]

Originally Posted by sprintman1

Aldi have some killer products but Costco have more and better. Bloody hard to walk through Costco and not spend a $100 or more

Was waiting for someone to bring up Costco. We love it. Definitely decent savings if you know what you're looking at. We make back the $60 sign up fee within the first two shops. The meat selection is great, some of the best meat I've cooked at home is from Costco, including the last 3 christmas hams.

Good for big ticket items too. I needed a light aluminium trolley jack for home and backyarders. Thought I'd take a gamble and buy a $160 one from Costco, hasn't missed a beat in 3 years. Solid and light enough to transport. Their deals on TVs are great too, and if the price drops within a month of purchase they send you a cheque for the difference.


I regularly shop at Aldi, however until one is opened closer to home Coles is still my main source of groceries. Their muesli is great.

[sprintman1]

Originally Posted by Benno91

Was waiting for someone to bring up Costco. We love it. Definitely decent savings if you know what you're looking at. We make back the $60 sign up fee within the first two shops. The meat selection is great, some of the best meat I've cooked at home is from Costco, including the last 3 christmas hams.

Good for big ticket items too. I needed a light aluminium trolley jack for home and backyarders. Thought I'd take a gamble and buy a $160 one from Costco, hasn't missed a beat in 3 years. Solid and light enough to transport. Their deals on TVs are great too, and if the price drops within a month of purchase they send you a cheque for the difference.


I regularly shop at Aldi, however until one is opened closer to home Coles is still my main source of groceries. Their muesli is great.

Muesli from Qld I think is the best. Getting that jack too, it's a beauty. Aldi raisin toast is the best but can't compare with a floor jack!