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As usual YMMV. Please turn out your light when you leave.
Exactly. They are really just two completely different type of stores. That said I shop at ALDI at least 4x as often as TJ. I get great products and value at that store. I do like TJ, but to me it is vastly overrated. It is not really cheaper or better than a lot of other stores I have access to where I live.
Exactly. They are really just two completely different type of stores. That said I shop at ALDI at least 4x as often as TJ. I get great products and value at that store. I do like TJ, but to me it is vastly overrated. It is not really cheaper or better than a lot of other stores I have access to where I live.
When I lived in SoCal, I went to Trader Joes 2-3x per week and really enjoyed it. Most of the fresh goods were locally sourced and most tasted great.
When they came to Chicago, I was really excited. No need to be. Most of the food is shipped in from their Boston warehouses, very little local sourcing. While the prices were better than Jewel and Dominick's, their prices were a LOT higher than most of the family owned grocery stores that are in the Chicago area. Also, a good deal of the fresh food was near date.
Aldi and Trader Joes are nearly identical in operating PHILOSOPHIES:
1) Limited SKUs.
2) No expensive services (florists, meat counter, etc.)
3) Higher than market pay for ALL employees.
4) Very low stock levels and very frequent deliveries.
5) They stock their own shelves - no manufacturer reps.
6) Store brands dominate.
7) Buy name brands only at a large discount.
8) Maker of their store brands are corporate secrets.
9) Store growth is limited to what they can do on current cash flow - no debt to expand.
10) No "stocking fees" to manufacturers.
11) Products come and go based on buyer's ability to get best deals.
12) A good number of SKUs are "seasonal" and are carried certain months.
I really like the changes that Aldi has made. There are several dozen products that are sold at both Aldo and TJs. Where this happens, Aldi is much cheaper.
When I lived in SoCal, I went to Trader Joes 2-3x per week and really enjoyed it. Most of the fresh goods were locally sourced and most tasted great.
When they came to Chicago, I was really excited. No need to be. Most of the food is shipped in from their Boston warehouses, very little local sourcing. While the prices were better than Jewel and Dominick's, their prices were a LOT higher than most of the family owned grocery stores that are in the Chicago area. Also, a good deal of the fresh food was near date.
Aldi and Trader Joes are nearly identical in operating PHILOSOPHIES:
1) Limited SKUs.
2) No expensive services (florists, meat counter, etc.)
3) Higher than market pay for ALL employees.
4) Very low stock levels and very frequent deliveries.
5) They stock their own shelves - no manufacturer reps.
6) Store brands dominate.
7) Buy name brands only at a large discount.
8) Maker of their store brands are corporate secrets.
9) Store growth is limited to what they can do on current cash flow - no debt to expand.
10) No "stocking fees" to manufacturers.
11) Products come and go based on buyer's ability to get best deals.
12) A good number of SKUs are "seasonal" and are carried certain months.
I really like the changes that Aldi has made. There are several dozen products that are sold at both Aldo and TJs. Where this happens, Aldi is much cheaper.
Same here, except I am in Sarasota, FL. I was tremendously excited when they came to town, I had heard so much hype. But there is ZERO local sourcing, and I can't tell you how many times I have had to throw away bad/spoiled or out-of-date food from that store. ALDI actually has some locally sourced produce, and their organic beef is from USA and cheaper than the imported one from TJ. I like many of the ALDI versions of chips, etc over TJ.
I think probably if TJ is someone's only source for some organic or "natural" stuff they are probably more excited over it. Living where I do, I have fantastic choices for grocery, and can find everything I like elsewhere at just as good or better price and not have to deal with the cult-like mobs. I go every once in awhile just for "fun." But it is not a "regular" shopping experience for me.
TJ's around here seems to be for those wanting fancier or more organics. They used to send out a flowery catalog type deal with fancy product descriptions. Higher priced than Aldi's for sure.
Aldi and Save A Lot remind me of what shopping in the Soviet Union must be like. I'm kind of meh about both of those stores, but it's nice to save a buck.
But there is a large difference if you really look.
Aldi is a low cost food store with gourmet items in disguise. At the Holidays, I buy my whole roast duck, fancy Italian cured meats and cheeses, and other European items there. Their Belgian chocolate bars are amazing. I just bought a brown mustard from France with herbs de provence.
They offer a lot of European and German foods without the fancy high dollar designer labels that other stores use to jack their prices up. The biggest thing for me, is the fact that because a lot of their foods are from Europe, they do not add HF corn syrup to everything like you find in foods in every other US store.
If you want a similar looking package, go to Sav a Lot, but what you will get is a lower quality, cheap ingredients, and loads of corn syrup in everything.
I have noticed a difference in some ALDI stores as far as atmosphere. Some of the older stores in low cost neighborhoods can look a bit rough. Newer stores in nicer areas are always large and clean with a great clientelle.
There is a recent Aldi that opened in my area so today I decided to take a look. Not the first time I have been in one but just like the other 2 times I visited a location I fail to see what the big deal is.
Trader Joe's and Adli do not even belong in the same sentence.
Read your labels on the foods in Aldi and compare the ingredients and prices.
Personally I don't shop at Trader Joes because I cook a lot from scratch and TJ's seems to be filled with pre made and processed snack foods in bags and ready to eat frozen or boxed meals.
Read your labels on the foods in Aldi and compare the ingredients and prices.
Personally I don't shop at Trader Joes because I cook a lot from scratch and TJ's seems to be filled with pre made and processed snack foods in bags and ready to eat frozen or boxed meals.
On my recent visit I toured Aldi.
The only things I was interested in buying in the future were one box of cereal (the bran flakes), honey, and something else I do not remember. In keeping with the topic I did buy a quart and a half of Belmont ice cream and it is pretty good.
I can drop $30.00 at Trader Joe's easily. I only eat the frozen dinners about once a month but they are far better than the commercial stuff they sell at most stores. I add fresh stuff to it, always. I've never bought snack foods there for myself.
Their "High Fiber Cereal" is one of the best cereal's I ever had. Vitamins (which my doctor approves of), raisins, and whole wheat couscous are some of the regular items I buy.
Aldi had the best hummus until just recently. The ingredients have changed. They have substituted lesser quality ingredients for several of the main ingredients. It makes a huge difference in taste and texture. Possibly the result of a new supplier. They need to go back to the previous ingredients and/or supplier. I will no longer buy hummus at Aldi until they reverse the trend of downgrading product.
I haven't been shopping at ALDI as often as I used to, but this week I went and they had organic sprouted bread! I was thrilled, and it's delicious! I am not sure if this is a permanent item or one of their "special buys", but it is their product line "Simply Nature", so I hope it's there to stay. It has good fiber content, great for me as a Type 2 diabetic. It is a little sweet because it has honey in it, but I don't eat much at a time, and the fiber helps make up for it.
ALDI has really increased the amount of organic and gluten-free items they carry, lately, and I couldn't be more pleased!
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ALDI organic sprouted bread
