Super cheap German grocery chain Aldi is taking America by storm — here’s why people are obsessed

• Sarah Schmalbruch, INSIDER

We explored Aldi’s only NYC location.Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

Aldi started off as a small food store in Germany in the early 1900s.

By the 1960s, the founder’s sons had taken over the business, and there were over 200 locations in Germany. The chain’s name was shortened from Albrecht Discount — the founder’s name was Anna Albrecht — to Aldi.

The store’s first US location opened in 1976 in southeastern Iowa, but the chain is currently enjoying an upswing in popularity stateside.

Today, Aldi has about 1,700 stores in the US, and plans to open 800 more by 2022.

Since we know the chain has plenty of great buys, we took a trip to one of New York City’s two Aldi locations to see what it’s like to shop there. Keep scrolling to see our experience.

Aldi currently has two stores in New York City, one in the Bronx and one in Harlem, located in the East River Plaza shopping center. We visited the Harlem location.

Aldi’s Harlem location.Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

For a map of all of Aldi’s US locations, click here >

The chain’s German heritage was evident from the minute we walked into the store. We were immediately greeted by bars of Schogetten, a German chocolate brand.

Schogetten chocolate.Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

Right next to it were packs of Knoppers, a sweet German snack that’s made from wafers, chocolate, and nougat.

Knoppers.Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

We headed to the snack aisle, where we encountered some familiar American brands.

Pringles.Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

We noticed that although Aldi sells big-name brands, the store also sells almost all items under its in-house brands. This party mix looked a lot like Chex Mix, but was instead branded as Clancy’s.

Party mix.Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

Similarly, these Clancy’s pretzel slims looked a lot like pretzel crisps.

Pretzel slims.Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

These in-house brands are what allows Aldi to keep its prices so low. We were shocked to see that we could get a box of six granola bars for under $2.

Granola bars.Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

According to Reuters, in an effort to compete with Wal-Mart and other low-priced chains, Aldi is focusing on its in-house brands and planning to sell more goods under these brands.

Another strategy that the store uses to cut costs is keeping products in the original packaging they’re shipped in. This saves employees from having to unpack boxes and place products individually on shelves.

The cereal aisle.Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

Source: NPR

A whole jar of crunchy peanut butter was just $1.50.

Peanut butter.Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

For some products, the in-house brand and name brand were offered right next to each other. They were often hard to tell apart.

Mayonnaise.Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

A jar of Burman’s mayo — the in-house brand — was $1.89. Hellmann’s was a whole $2.16 more, which might not seem like a lot, but adds up when you’re buying lots of groceries.

Burman’s mayonnaise.Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

The in-house brands of Coca-Cola and Sprite were half the price of regular soda.

The soda aisle.Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

It was easy to see why Aldi appeals to a wide variety of budget conscious consumers. This 43-cent box of mac and cheese could be ideal for a college student, or a mom looking to make her kids dinner.

Mac and cheese.Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

The store had its share of “trendy” foods too. There was Greek yogurt in a wide variety of flavors for under $1…

Greek yogurt.Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

… kale chips for under $3…

Kale chips.Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

…and almond milk for just $1.99.

Almond milk.Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

The meat aisle looked pretty standard. You could get chicken thighs for 99 cents per pound, while drumsticks were $2.29 per pound.

Chicken.Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

Staples like eggs were also affordable.

Eggs.Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

The produce section was filled with some great deals, like $1.78 for two pounds of red grapes.

Fruit prices.Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

Recently, Aldi has been ramping up its number of organic products and rolling out a new design for its stores: changes the chain hopes will put it on the same level as Whole Foods.

The produce aisle.Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

Source: INSIDER

It looked like the changes hadn’t hit the store we visited though. The displays — at least at this location — looked somewhat haphazard and not exactly neat or enticing.

The fruit display.Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

During our exploration we passed a freezer that was completely empty…

An empty freezer.Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

… as well as an aisle filled with random items like clocks, lamps…

The miscellaneous aisle.Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

… children’s books, lawn chairs, and pillows. Aldi’s mix of products made it seem like the chain was trying to be a combination of both Whole Foods and Walmart.

The miscellaneous aisle.Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

We also came across some intriguing food products that we hadn’t seen in many other grocery chains in the area, like these frozen White Castle sliders.

Frozen White Castle sliders.Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

Hostess Ding Dongs were listed as a “limited time, premium buy.”

Hostess Ding Dongs.Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

The store seemed to be in a full fall mode, with a freezer devoted to pumpkin ice cream and pies.

Frozen pumpkin dessert foods.Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

And for any shoppers looking to embrace the chain’s heritage — and their inner German — there was frozen pork schnitzel…

Frozen pork schnitzel.Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

… and cheese spätzle to go with it. Both products are from the store’s Deutsche Küche brand, which translates to German cuisine.

Cheese spätzle.Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

As we approached the end of our tour, we found the non-food items that Aldi sells, like laundry detergent and pet supplies.

Laundry detergent and pet supplies.Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

There was a whole section dedicated to toiletries as well.

Toiletries.Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

All in all, we can see why people are obsessed with the chain. What struck us the most about our Aldi shopping experience was its prices.

The store.Sarah Schmalbruch/INSIDER

Assuming that the store’s in-house brand products taste the same as the big-name brand products, we would definitely shop here. It may not be the prettiest of grocery stores, but it’s certainly one of the most cost-effective every day.