I didn't realise that. I haven't seen any Trader Joe stores in Europe, but we do have lots of branches of Aldi. I love their fresh food, and their canned goods and cleaning materials are excellent as well. I also like their frozen food range - they have some items that aren't available in other stores, and their summer barbecue range is really good.
I absolutely love Aldi. They're my favorite store and I've shopped at them since I was a kid. I don't buy everything there, but most of my staples come from Aldi and I supplement our pantry with meats and special items from other stores.
I am going to have to give Aldi a better chance - there is one close to my house, but I rarely shop there. The few times I've been in, it just hasn't had a great selection so I haven't made it a habit to shop there, but with the cost of food having risen so high, I'm definitely in the market for a cheaper place to get groceries. I had no idea that Trader Joes and Aldi were from the same company - I hear wonderful things about Trader Joes (I don't have one close, so I've never been). I'm going to make a special effort to go to Aldi next time I need to shop!
You should! The thing to remember about the lack of selection is that it is -not- necessarily meant to be a one-stop shop. They're not going to have every single thing you want most times. Use it to stock up on things that you don't care about brand with, scoop up some deals on the produce or meat that looks good, and then go to your regular store for other things. Even just going once a month to restock the basics will save you a ton of cash.
There's no Aldi here that I know of (never heard of it before) but Trader Joe's is big and I LOVE that store. They have so many things you just can't get in other stores at all and they have so many things that are cheaper than you can get anywhere else. It's the only place I get nuts, of course, but their wine and coffee and canned beans can't be beat. And, I love their roll-your-own pizza dough.
I have an Aldi's in my town but I rarely shop there because the store is not very nice. The few times I have gone in there the produce section was really run down and the shelves were dirty. The Save A Lot store here is in better shape. They are building a Trader Joe's about an hour away from me and I can't wait to visit. It is too far from me to be a regular shop for me but it will be nice to finally get to see one!
I miss Aldi's so much! I wish they would move into our new state. I would never get my meat there, but consider some of their produce (like peppers) and canned goods. Their seasonal Christmas selection used to be wonderful, too. They sold great toys and holiday baking goods like sugar and sweetened condensed milk. The bakery I used to work out also purchased cases of their vanilla cake mix, because it was the yummiest around. They would have gladly paid more for it, they simply bought it due to the flavor.
It's funny you should mention that. I grew up being told not to buy meat from Aldis because it wasn't very good, high quality, etc. Years later, I just continued to avoid it. A couple years ago, though, I glanced over the section in our local one, and it looks identical to my other grocery store! There aren't as many options, but it's the same style packages and whatnot that I get at Krogers and usually a fair bit cheaper still. I've bought some a few times now and it tasted great, so I might have to stop avoiding the meat there.
Aldi has upgraded a lot in the last several years. I shopped there regularly when my kids were small, because the prices were so low. The other posters are right, though. Their produce is not the greatest. For canned goods and other basic staples, they are a great place to stock up.
