Quality at Aldi and Lidl

[Marcelduchamp]

I know Aldi and Lidl are really popular on mumsnet but I really am completely baffled as to how people can claim its good quality. I have relatives who shop there and I have eaten the food lots of times. Yes a few items are OK but on the whole its not good in my experience. I don't eat meat so can't comment on that. I do think veg is veg so is probably not vastly different. I also think the choice is poor with a very basic selection of stuff.

I know it's cheap and we all need that at times. I'm not knocking people who need to cut shopping costs. But are people really being honest when they say the can't tell the difference. What are you tasting? Examples are the strong cheddar cheese is just bland, the crisps don't have much flavour and the filled pasta is cloying inside.

I suppose my AIBU is AIBU to day these shops sell poor quality food.

I'm using Aldi a lot at the moment as it's definitely cheaper and there's quite a few things I like - butter, english mature cheddar, a couple of the ready meals and their chicken is good. Veg is always very poor quality to the point I've stopped buying as it's a false economy.

My main problem with Aldi is that it's such a depressing 'experience' - ours was closed for a fortnight for refurbishment but it still looks a mess with horrible lighting and items put in odd places. There's no self-service or even 10 item tills, everyone has to queue together and you have to put up with the till announcements every few seconds - as soon as I set foot in there I just can't wait to get out again, which seems to be their intention.

We do Sainsbury’s online shopping but do sometimes shop in Aldi as my Nan likes to go every couple of weeks. Some of their stuff is great but on the whole I do prefer Sainsbury’s as I feel the quality is better.

I think with any supermarket there are good and bad lines.
I am a fan of their fresh fruit and veg and pasta sauces. Pizzas are great for the children’s and I actually prefer their hummus over tesco / Sainsburys. Great for children snacks. Not so keen on anything frozen. (Apart from ice cream). And they sell lacto free milk so much cheaper than others.
So some very good bits, but like all. Some not so good.

Some of the stuff is definitely made in the same factory for both M and S and Aldi as said below. I knew someone who worked there. Can't remember all the brands made but often same mix but different shape
Also the newspaper story of couple who bought the Mediterranean veg in foil tray from Waitrose and it had Aldi instructions on the back
In my local Lidl/Aldi there was a bit of a commotion around the potatoes. An old chap had picked up potatoes that labelled as Sainsbury's and was worried he wouldn't be able to buy them.

I can't abide enormous supermarkets. 20 mins round the store is fab for me. Scratch cooking. Couldn't comment on anything preprepared

I like Lidl but don't often do a big shop there. I like their fruit and veg, bakery products, select cheeses, crisps and chocolate. Some of their ready meals are good and I've also bought some great plants and cheap seeds in Lidl.

However, I recently shopped at a different Lidl store, and was disappointed because 2 packs of sliced fruit went mouldy in under 2 days (kept in fridge). One was on it's use by date, the other within it, but both were inedible. Due to Covid I didn't feel it was worth going back just to get a refund, but it has put me off going to that store again, as perhaps something is at fault in their chilled fruit section. No other problems with Lidl before though, in fact I've had some really tasty fruit from there.

I think that it does depend on what you are buying.

The fish is cheaper and no noticeable difference in quality from lidl or the main supermarkets.

Aldi veg, is variable quality in the same way that I have experienced similar in shops from Sainsbury's and morrisons. However never had an issue at other main supermarkets or lidl.

Lidl bakery is lovely, but sells out quickly.

I don't buy ready meals, so can not comment on these, but have had some of their prepared potato dishes and they're amazing and even though I love cooking their dauphinoise is way better than mine!

I save money if I shop at lidl. However, as with any supermarket, I can never get everything I need from one place, so always do sporadic shops elsewhere.

I love both Lidl & Aldi for basics.
My elderly father is also a big fan, however for a change we did a big shop at Waitrose recently for him. He reported a couple of days later that 'his taste buds seem to have returned'.
Think this says it all really.
At least with somewhere like Waitrose you are assured the produce is ethically sourced and fair trade etc.
I think using a combination of supermarkets is best.

I don't buy everything at Lidl. I do a combination of shopping between them and Waitrose. I've found their veg to be absolutely fine. I actually find it weird when vegetables last for ages, it does mean they've done something to them, like irradiate them. So if food doesn't last long, its probably better for you! But their basics are absolutely fine. I've found some lovely things there like smoked trout. But I don't rate their meat as it was tough as boots. I feel that overall Waitrose pays more attention to suppliers and the food chain.

Aldi / Lidl vs M&S/ Waitrose

The equivalent of...

Benidorm 1 star vs high end Maldives resort

Incomparable in my view.

[quote PattyPan]@Facelikearustytractor I cook every meal from scratch but find Lidl doesn’t have the range I need. They have hardly any herbs & spices, the only dried pulses they sell are red lentils, they don’t sell bulgur wheat, spelt, barley, giant couscous, don’t regularly have tofu and so forth. Aldi and Lidl make the choice to have fewer items at cheaper prices but that’s less convenient for cooking from scratch because you have to go to bigger supermarkets to get the ingredients they don’t stock.[/quote]
Yep this I regularly buy the items mentioned. I was actually just thinking this yesterday as I opened my spice drawerwhen making lunch. There are loads of spices I can't get at Aldi and Lidl.

I am also massively enjoying how not cooking from scratch is used as an insult! 😂

@Jroseforever

Aldi / Lidl vs M&S/ Waitrose

The equivalent of...

Benidorm 1 star vs high end Maldives resort

Incomparable in my view.

But many people on the thread are saying otherwise! So apperently were wrong.

For veg, I think it depends on where you live for Lidl/Aldi. Where I used to love, Aldi’s veg was always on a par with Sainsbury’s, lasted well etc while Lidl’s was crap.

Where I live now, Sainsbury’s veg is still good, Lidl’s doesn’t last quite as long but is good while in Aldi half the stuff seems to be past it’s best even on the shelf.

Fruit is very unreliable in both for me, sometimes great and lasts as expected and sometimes awful. The same for meat. But I know others who say both are wonderful, or again that their lidl is great and aldi crap or vice versa.

The general unreliability and seemingly random stock issues (which when they have one option per product is problematic - at Sainsbury’s or Tesco if they don’t have the brand of X I wanted, I can almost always pick up other brand) means I struggle to do a full shop there.

It depends what’s the main part of your diet.

Mine... organic fresh fruit and veg, flavoursome organic meat and fresh. Consequently... I love marks and Waitrose

If it was cheap crisps, fizzy drinks and cereals. Then it would be Aldi and Lidl

If you think that any food in this country could vary as wildly as a 1 star apartment in Benidorm vs 5 star in the Maldives then you're not thinking it through and are simply acting out of snobbery. In the process you are spending unnecessarily, sometimes on EXACTLY the same item.

We have a good standards agency and environmental health which ensures that it isn't possible to have a scale as you describe in our supermarkets. M&S sell dire wine, but Aldi are fantastic.

The reason it is cheaper is due to their systems, not their produce. If you'd allow yourself to see past the snobbery you might find that you were being a fool not to try it out.

Aldi sell the exact same premium steak as Waitrose do as well of much of their prepared veg.

And whilst I was typing @Jroseforever proved my point

Aldi sell the exact same premium steak as Waitrose do as well of much of their prepared veg.

Evidence? Source?

I also think that a switched-on store manager makes a huge difference. Someone who is on top of issues like stock rotation - it's basic but can go a long way to explain why people are finding in a particular store things go off quickly - because a shop assistant has piled the new stuff in front of the old rather than behind, and the new stuff has sold.

Also the store environment affects your feelings hugely. The Lidl near us is an older store. Narrow, dark, feels cluttered and cramped and it's just not a nice place to be in. Same with the Sainsbury's, it's been there forever and it's really tired and old. Scruffy flooring, poor lighting, just really "1980s". In contrast we have an Aldi which only opened about 18 months ago and it's lovely - aisles twice the width of Lidl, very bright and airy, higher ceilings, huge windows, just makes for a much more comfortable place to be.

Obviously it has been stated a few times on this thread and it is fairly well known that Aldi target the suppliers to m&s and Waitrose. This is an article from This is Money which basically sums it up. Aldi make no secret of their methods.

Whether you choose to be a marketers dream or not is up to you. But if you ever have to think twice about spending money, or ever need to shop around for things, then there is a really easy way to save some money. Don't buy the same steak at Waitrose when you could buy it almost half price at Aldi

www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-4163462/amp/Behind-scenes-Aldi-17-surprising-secrets.html

I agree @RaspberryCoulis the new stores are brilliant and tend to have a wider range of fresh food too.

Suppliers will have different quality of profits they supply. Trust me.

So they will have their good stuff
And they will have less good quality stuff they want to unload

@Jroseforever

Suppliers will have different quality of profits they supply. Trust me.

So they will have their good stuff
And they will have less good quality stuff they want to unload

This.

"Trust me" they don't. The only difference is the packaging.

Nobody is denying that. Not Waitrose, not Aldi, not the supplier.

If someone is daft enough to pay extra for something week in week out then Waitrose will provide them with the arena to do that.

If someone wants to know they have got good quality whilst saving some money for their family but at the same time has the choice of only one or two types of chopped tomatoes rather than 8, or only one brand of nappies (which is actually regularly voted better than the big brands) rather than 10...then Aldi will provide them with the arena to do that.

I can only speak for meat! But Waitrose and Lidl do not get exactly the same. It comes from the same abbatoir but is not the same grade.

@MrsMiaWallis no, Lidl don't. But Aldi do

Love Aldi and Lidl. I cook mainly from scratch. Their 0% Greek yoghurt is £1.29. Branded fage is double price and tastes same. Frozen berries much cheaper. Tinned cherry tomatoes 59p, branded at least double. I find all fruit and veg good quality, the super 6 offers are fantastic. Greek style fat free yoghurt 39p 500g - Asda own brand double the price.