Aldi/Lidl brands vs supermarkets?

june89

Funny thing is I used to work in retail marketing - although not for supermarkets. We know where to look for stuff being said (which often had to be done to check for promo code leaks, as an example) whether you use **** or not. So the whole blocking searches theory is misguided anyway.

Anyway, back to the original question... I don't shop in Aldi and Lidl much as I don't have one locally, and potential cost savings aren't enough to cover the transport fares. But I use them sometimes when I happen to be near one and never had a bad product. So I don't hesitate to recommend them, but I won't go out of my way to shop there either.

IMO, Aldi and Lidl have been successful in reducing budgets mainly because they limit your choice, rather than the fact they are significantly cheaper. If you only have one 25p tin of beans on the shelf, that's the one you'll buy instead of being overwhelmed by a dozen different brands ranging in price from that same 25p to well over a pound.

maman

lovinituk wrote: »

I'd wager that most people who do it, don't actually know why. It's the sheep mentality - they've seen others do and think it's the done thing or 'cool'.

Goldiegirl wrote: »

I asked about this ages ago, and I was told it was to stop the threads showing in searches.

I have to say, I find all these *** and euphemisms like Herr A and Sainsbobs a bit confusing, and can make people's posts difficult to read.

I don't find them confusing I find them ridiculous. I have mental pictures of people saying 'I'm off down to Sainsbobs' in RL. Do people really talk like that.:eek:


I'd positively encourage the retailers to read the posts on here. If it's praise they deserve it and if it's criticism then they need to know.


I shop in Aldi every week. My store is excellent and very well run. I go to Lidl occasionally and stock up on a few bits (dishwasher salt, emmental and cornichons particularly and other things while I'm there). Unfortunately our Lidl is on a hideous roundabout so it can take an age to get out into the traffic.

DWhite

I'm not long back from Aldi, couldn't remember which one it was that was local out of Aldi and Lidl. I did a pretty much normal shop for me, my partner was with me so a few treats went in for him, but only £2/£3 worth. I reckon it was probably around £10 less than a comparable shop in tesco or sainsburys. I think a big difference in there is that there's less choice, so I'm less likely to buy a branded product and just go for what's on the shelf.
Overall I'm quite pleased and will continue to shop there. It closes for a month soon for a refurb though, so I'll have to work out if there's another close enough for me to get to while it's closed.
Does a refurb necessarily mean their prices will increase when they re- open?

DWhite

To stop upsetting people I've edited the title to take the * out

Valli

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

P.S. Why do people put *** in names of supermarkets? I've typed Lidl and Aldi twice in this thread and haven't got struck by lightning or anything.

To stop their posts showing up on google etc?

NewShadow

maman wrote: »

I have mental pictures of people saying 'I'm off down to Sainsbobs' in RL. Do people really talk like that.:eek:

*cough*

I will say sainsbob, coop (as in chicken coop), Lid-el-y, in RL.

But, then again, I also say snosage samage and pinnygig.

Life's too short to take things too seriously.

newbs68

Here in Inverness we have Lidl and Aldi within half a mile of each other. First I go to Lidl, they have the best and cheapest bakery in town. I love their jams, fruit and UK scourced meats. Not so keen on the imports from the continent . While they taste lovely and are cheap I avoid meat reared there as UK welfare condition are much, much better and the animals have had a better life.
However, I am german and therefore cannot resist their bratwurst (Prefer Aldis but Lidl do the small Nurnbergers).
Both do fab dairy products and yoghurts, so much cheaper than tesco.
Aldi do the orange top 1% milk (wish they did that in organic).

Neither of them seem to stock much tinned fruit in juice, it's always that sugery syrup which is yucky.
My 17 year old swears that Lidl cola tastes just like Pepsi!!
Cereals are great but I won't buy any own brand tea bags in either store.

A lot of the fruit and veg in Aldi doesn't have dates on it and makes it difficult to spot the freshest. I've been left disappointed many times, especially with grapes and berries.

Good luck!

P.S. I make an 80 mile round trip to shop there and it's still worth the fuel cost!

nannaanna

The best and tastiest potato salad (in my opinion) is from Lidl - the creme fraiche potato salad is absolutely gorgeous. Have tried other supermarkets for this type of product but Lidl beats them on taste!

snoozer

If Aldi are like Lidl they have a code on the fruit and veg to alert the staff to out of date stock. It's made up of the week of the year and the day of the week in numbers. My son who works for Lidl has explained it to me a couple of times but I always forget the details, maybe someone else can help.

Obviously I shop in Lidl but did so before son worked for them and rate their meat, fruit and veg, bread etc. The other thing I like about them is that they pay their staff the living wage (although they expect them to work hard).

Cornucopia

DWhite wrote: »

Does a refurb necessarily mean their prices will increase when they re- open?

No. AFAICT Aldi/Lidl prices are the same nationally. ISTR some differences when I was in Scotland, though.

I think the main problem that people start out with before becoming regular A & L shoppers is the notion that they "must be cheap for a reason". This isn't the way to look at it, and if you start with that mindset you will waste time agonising over whether it's worth saving 20p for the sake of a product of perceived lower quality.

The way to approach it, I think, is two-fold:-

1. Focus initially on the areas where A & L are (IMHO) strongest: dairy, deli, biscuits & cakes, chocolate, cleaning products, fruit juices & squashes, bread/ISB, beers & wines. If you find an unpalatable/poor VFM product in these areas from either store, I would be surprised.

2. Evaluate things for yourself/yourselves and see what you like. Also listen to what other people say about their best buys from A&L. Star buys at the moment for me: in Aldi - Specially Selected Bread (79p), Torchon Ham (£1.45), French Brie (89p), Greek-style Fat-free Yogurts (89p), Swedish Fruit Cider (£1.39); in Lidl - No Added Sugar Muesli bars (99p), Brazil Nuts (£1.35), Frozen Wild Salmon fillets (£1.59), Cup-a-Soup (45p), Italian Antipasti (89p), Vintage Cider (£1.29)., etc. etc.

As you become familiar with the stores you will realise that they are quite different. Aldi is now a mainstream discount supermarket catering to British tastes, whilst Lidl is slightly up-market with more of a continental feel. They are both constantly evolving, though.

Many of the product lines are similar, or apparently similar between A & L. It would be interesting to run a thread on which was better, and the results, I suspect would flip back and forth between A&L. Lidl Decaf coffee is excellent and exceptionally good VFM, whilst Aldi's is over-roasted to my tastes. I broadly prefer Aldi dairy & deli products over Lidl, though.