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Christine Luken: A consumer’s look at ALDI Food Market’s new, improved stores in Northern Kentucky


The new and improved ALDI Food Market is invading Northern Kentucky and that is a fabulous thing for shoppers! For many years, ALDI’s only NKY location was on Dixie Highway in Erlanger and had a reputation as a no-frills, inexpensive place to grocery shop.

In January and February, ALDI closed its old Erlanger store and opened two bigger, brighter stores in Florence and Newport. With a third location opening in early April in Independence, I wanted to shed some light on why ADLI is taking the grocery world by storm.

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ALDI is owned by the same parent company as Trader Joe’s, which is known for its high quality private label brands. ALDI has a wide selection of organic, gluten-free and gourmet items at excellent prices. Most of the items are ALDI’s private label brands; however I did see some deals on national brands in their Florence store a few weeks ago, including Coca Cola products. The store has a great selection of fresh produce, dairy products, and frozen foods. So far, everything that I’ve tried has been delicious! There’s also a section of household items at close-out prices. I scored a deluxe king-sized mattress pad, which I sorely needed, for only $29!

Here are some other products that I scored at excellent prices:

Huge 4 oz. containers of various spices for $0.99 (Paprika, onion powder, steak seasoning, parsley, and chili powder to name a few.)
Canned beans (garbanzo, kidney, cannellini, etc.) for $0.65 each
Organic Honey 12 oz. for $3.49
Organic pasta sauce at $1.79 per jar
Natural creamy peanut butter for $1.49
Organic Salsa $1.69 for 16 oz.
Gluten free multi-grain tortilla chips – $1.69 per bag.

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How does ALDI keep prices so competitive on their groceries?

Yes, part of it is their private labeling, which means you’re not paying for advertising. There are several other things ALDI does differently from other major grocery chains:

You will need a quarter for your grocery cart. This releases the cart from the corral and then you get it back when you return the cart. This saves money because their staff is not required to round up carts and get them back into the store. (It also reduces the likelihood of your vehicle being dinged by a runaway grocery cart!)

You need to bring your own reusable bags and you’ll be doing the bagging yourself after paying for your groceries.

Aldi does not accept manufacturer’s coupons. This makes sense as most of their products are the ALDI house brands.

Yes, it may take a little more effort to return your cart to the corral at the front of the building and bag your own groceries. But if you are looking to score some killer deals on organic and gluten free groceries, ALDI is going to be your new favorite store!

Christine

Christine Luken is the Financial Lifeguard and a veteran Meal Planner. She helps individuals, families, and entrepreneurs design a financial road map to help them arrive at their Preferred Financial Destination.  You can find Christine’s blogs, podcasts, and videos on her Financial Lifeguard website and her Meal Planning Monday blog.


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4 Comments

  1. zuki says:

    Not true.
    Aldi North (+Theo Albrecht) owns Trader Joe’s and Aldi South, which runs Aldi USA, is owned by Karl Albrecht. Karl wanted to overtake Trader Joes in the 90s but Theo declined.

  2. Bob says:

    These articles are as bad as Yahoo. The writers embarrass the state of Kentucky with its Cincinnati news 2 months later. If you went to school for business doesn’t qualify you to write anything that is reporting. I am here because I am still after 15 years or so wondering why 1 Trader Joe’s grocery/ organic food in the Cincinnati area which isn’t convenient for anyone that’s not near the location in the Kenwood Towne Centre area. I want to know why this company aldi / Trader Joe’s doesn’t put a traders joes near some busy area in NKY. There are so many people who want it. Amazon is going to do to Whole Foods what they have done to good prices ; ruined them. Amazon is no longer a value. It’s a last resort. People buying low cost items and reselling them is destroying the purpose. I believe in the word capitalism but siting at home trying to make $ off the guy working is BE.

  3. Bob says:

    I just seen that the Aldi company owns Trader Joe’s or the other way. Guess it’s as reliable as the rest of the news. I just want some options in Nky / Cincinnati and not Kroger every 5 miles. I know it’s not Southern California but times have changed and healthier , better foods are more popular everyday. I almost had to go in person to believe there was a Newport Beach original in Cincinnati – the Yardhouse and a Huntington Beach original on mall road in Florence- BJ’s Brewhouse. Fantastic stuff there. I love original locally owned businesses but I definitely know we can support what many are afraid of trying. Cut down those flying pigs Cincinnati and maybe we won’t keep the porkopolis stigma. We are suspected to be far and out of shape in the Midwest. Cincinnati has made great improvements and also my favorite are Nky . Build it we will go. The original point I was making was awareness in reporting. Bring the good ideas to the readers . I am fortunate enough to have seen the most incredible places in our great country . I apologize for rewriting poor information about Aldi. I’m glad to see something but Trader Joe’s and some other businesses could replace the empty Kroger union and other communities that end up with a Kromart. Add furniture , clothing and jewelry, but the health food service at Kroger still stinks. I’m finished now.

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