Thoughts on Aldi?

[GirlMum93]

Generally interested. We done the Aldi switch a couple of months back now. Have saved a huge amount. However does anyone think there is a compromise in quality at all?

I pop in about once a month to stock up on store cupboard stuff, treats, cleaning products and baby wipes. Best things for us are;

• Cereal bars (same as nutrigrain but cheap)
• stir-fry sauces / packet recipe mixes
• spray cleaners / toilet rim blocks
• hand wash
• L'Oréal rip-off shampoo / Sanctuary Spa bubble bath
• crisps
• stir in pasta sauce
• biscuits

All of these items are just as good as or even better than the branded and a fraction of the price. I've tried to do the weekly shop in Aldi but it just doesn't work for us. Often the meat is in slightly smaller packs than I would buy in Asda and not quite enough for our household. Because I can't get everything we want I end up going somewhere else too and spending more on extras that I see or my toddler desperately needs...

I really like it but chose m&s for my fruit

I’ve just eaten a whole one of these someone bought me and it was delicious!
groceries.aldi.co.uk/en-GB/p-moser-roth-milk-chocolate-hazelnut-bunny-125g/4088600443874

We used to regularly shop in Aldi until the pandemic but now, CEV, we have a delivery slot. Our shopping now costs £100 per week for hardly any food that we could probably get for half the price in Aldi. The quality of the fruit & veg was always good at our local one. I miss it.

Hit or a miss. If I am passing - my local one is a 28 mile round trip, I will definitely stock up on cleaning stuff, laundry stuff, gin, tonic, toilet roll, apple juice, snacks and their little bars of milk chocolate. However, my main shop is with Tesco. With Tesco, what we buy for Monday-Friday is the same with a good amount Aldi Price matched.

Tesco is cheaper for chicken. We eat that most days. Aldi is poor for fruit and veg lasting more than a day or two.

I haven't had any issues with Aldi fruit and veg and find Tesco really poor quality and generally rubbish. You wouldn't think there's regional variations, but maybe there is?

Love Aldi, love the reduced mental load of just having one option for everything, love the middle aisles of madness.

I like it. Definitely cheaper and their own brand stuff is good.

Cons: limited selection if you need to be specific for a recipe. Things like paella rice for instance: need to go elsewhere. I also like home delivery ideally.

If i was really organised, I could probably get a monthly Tesco with all my specific things in, with a weekly Aldi for perishables and generic stuff.

I prefer Lidl. The quality seems better
I've never had any problem with the fresh fruit and veg going off but it doesn't get the chance here.

I find the meat. goes off really quickly.

Meat we buy from there we eat the same or next day or half the time, it’s rancid way before the beat before date. Especially the mince.

We’ve been shopping there years though, need to switch to cheaper but there’s nothing to go to once you’ve always shopped at Aldi!

@Favourodds

I haven't had any issues with Aldi fruit and veg and find Tesco really poor quality and generally rubbish. You wouldn't think there's regional variations, but maybe there is?

Love Aldi, love the reduced mental load of just having one option for everything, love the middle aisles of madness.

Our posts above are next to each other and show you prefer Aldi, but for the most, I prefer Tesco. May be there are regional differences. I cannot get fresh food and what we eat from Aldi.

@UnicornMadeOfPinkGlitter

I used to think it was comparable but the last year the quality of the meat abs the fresh produce had really declined. I don’t know if that was a local issue or an over all issue but it made shopping frustrating as either I couldn’t get everything I wanted abs had to shop elsewhere for extras or the stuff I brought went off or tasted different eg chicken greats suddenly full of water. So when they cook all that frothy water comes out of them.

I work for a rival supermarket abs still shopped at Aldi as it was cheaper even taking in to consideration my staff discount but now I shop where I work abs can meal plan and know that the dates will be good on produce and even after. Eg strawberries with a short date will be good on the Thursday/Friday when the best before date was Monday/Tuesday but with Aldi strawberries they would go mushy before the date. Also dd says Aldi fruit doesn’t taste as nice as fruit from work.

I also think prices have crept up and the savings haven’t been big enough to keep me shopping there.

I agree with this poster Fresh produce from there is awful!! We have started using sainsburys- they Aldi price match an awful lot and our weekly costs are hardly different 👍👍

I love Aldi - I do part of my weekly shop in there, & the other bits I can't get in there from Sainsburys. It's cheaper (though not if you partake in the middle aisle) & quality can be as good as or better on many things.
I don't tend to buy much fruit & veg as we get a fruit & veg box from our local greengrocer.
Aldi favourites here are:
Pesto
Deli meats
Cheese
Biscuits
Cereals
Basic baking ingredients
Dried fruit
Tinned pulses/tomatoes
Passata/purée
Mayo/salad cream
Crisps
Sweets
Nappies
Wipes
Dishwasher tablets

@NeedToKnow101 I missed the joke I feel stupid now 😂😂

@Rockbird

Their fake Wotsits are better than Wotsits. That's the extent of my opinion

I do totally agree with that!

Thanks everyone.

@cobblers123

I love Aldi but the packet of tomatoes I bought on Monday, yesterday I had to bin three as covered in mould.

To be fair, this is a rare occurrence with either Aldi or Lidl, I still do my main shop with them as I like a lot of their products..

To be fair, there is a nationwide issue with the tomato supply chain.

Great for baby: We get nappies, formula, baby snacks etc.
Ok for food staples, pasta rice etc

Shite for fruit and meat.

We changed from Asda to Aldi two months ago, I have saved approx £20 a week. Quality is fine, I just need to be careful of the use by dates.
And their skin on fries are fabulous. Even their posh cat food is cheaper than Asda’s own brand. The Sensitive toothpaste is 89p, works the same as Sensodyne at £3.
It’s a game changer for us.

Fresh F&V are rubbish unless they're used immediately.

I've found that meat & fish are on a par & much cheaper than Sainsbo - although they don't have a good range of products.
A large joint of beef was about half the cost.

Groceries & cleaning/laundry products are fine & generally cheaper.

@SleepingStandingUp

For a baby boy or girl though?

I named my triplets Aldi, Asda and Asbo.

Our posts above are next to each other and show you prefer Aldi, but for the most, I prefer Tesco.

I know, that's what inspired me to comment. Really weird, isn't it? You'd think kind of massive multinationals would be all be the same.

That said, the Tesco in my town is also a dismal 90s one that's dark and claustrophobic so maybe it's partly influenced by the light, bright Aldi being much nicer to go to.

I think part of the reason for the regional variations is management.

If they save on deliveries by ordering less frequently can be one. How quickly goods are are moved to appropriate storage once delivered etc.

Years ago I, more than once, got milk from the co op that was already very off. Milk was clearly off loaded from the lorry and then left outside for hours before being moved into refrigerated storage.

I find the biggest local Tesco is appalling for fresh fruit and veg, yet the other 2 I can quite easily get to are fine.

The nearest Lidl is very poor on veg but I don't have a problem with the Aldi.