Dive Brief:
- No-frills grocery chain Aldi is planning a massive expansion in the U.S. The company has set aside $3 billion to fund the construction of 650 outlets across the country.
- The chain, owned by Germany's Aldi Einkauf GmbH, already operates 1,300 stores here, mostly in the Midwest.
- The expansion plans also call for opening a a regional headquarters and distribution center in Moreno Valley, Calif.
- Shopping at Aldi is an unusual -- but inexpensive -- experience for Americans. The stores eschew amenities like shelves and brand names. Items are piled up in their cartons. And 90 percent of items in the store are Aldi private labels.
Dive Insight:
Now this is exciting. Or at least it's exciting if you tend to get all geeky about the history of the food industry. Here's why: Aldi is the estranged brother of Trader Joe's ... sort of. See, there were once two German brothers named Albrecht who started a discount chain. But they feuded, as brothers often do. So they split their empire into two parts: Aldi Sud and Aldi Nord.
The two companies morphed and grew and eventually made their way here. One of them -- Aldi Nord -- grew quickly in the U.S. and became a cultural phenomenon under its Americanized name: Trader Joe's. The other - Aldi Sud -- has so far kept closer to its Teutonic roots. Whereas shopping at Trader Joe's feels like a weird celebration where upbeat workers guide you through snaking lines of private label goodies, shopping at Aldi feels like you're hit your financial bottom in postwar Berlin as you rummage through stacks of boxes looking for something to eat.
But we suspect Aldi is about to change its approach. Those boxes will still be there. And the stores will still be filled with private labels. But we expect something considerably more upscale, pleasant and American-y about the new stores. And the first evidence of that is that Aldi has also announced an addition to its private labels: SimplyNature, a line of organic and natural products.