Anyone know if the tubs of peanut butter that look like dupes of Meridian are any good? And if Lidl is better than Aldi or the other way around?
Good point!
The boxes of the specially selected sauces - butter chicken, korma, jalfrezi etc are all mixed up together too!
They're glass jars, and I've actually seen them get smashed on the ground when people were trying to find the one they wanted.
Imagine if they all fell on your head when you're trying to find the one you want?
Finding their regular sparkling orange is the worst. It, the sugar free and rock shandy are all just piled in together as an orange mess with similar labels on the top shelf. It's about six deep as well. I'm over six ft tall but still have difficulty.
I mean you kind of need to put the recommended food into a basket first in order to buy it, no?
I personally dislike salted caramel as a flavour (in general) but the caramel millionaire version are not bad.
My preference would be almond, then milk chocolate, and my daughter loves the white chocolate variety. We haven't tried the mint.
The "exotic fruit" tropicos (soleros) are my favourite, but the berry version is good too.
But like that, sometimes you have to dig through a big pile of berry flavour to find the exotic fruit flavour.
is this thread not about Aldi food recommendations? 🤔 can we leave all the talk about the bloody baskets? no one wants to read pages about their baskets.
my main issue with the large plastic baskets is they're often not kept clean. there's simply too much surface area in them.
Their business model is no frills to keep costs down. You don't see staff merchandising like in Dunnes, Tesco etc.
I agree it's a pain in the arse, especially when stuff is at the back of high shelves and you're 5ft 3!
The salted caramel fake magnums are really good - if you can get them. I hate Aldi's multi variety merchandising - like having to take a load of pizzas or ice creams out of the freezer to find the variety you want.
I have to do it with ready meals, pizzas, dog food etc. I complained to Aldi & got a long reply thanking me, saying how much they care etc & then one sentence saying that they won't be changing their policy !
If you like individual ice cream bars, the fake magnums and fake soleros are really good. And the fake icebergers.
Speaking of ice cream, has anybody tried (either on purpose or by accident) their doggy ice cream?
It is actually ice cream for dogs but it's placed in the freezer right in the middle of the normal stuff between their faux Cornettos and something else. I'm sure some people must buy them by mistake and wonder why their tub tastes like peas 😂.
Another non recommendation. Giannis Cornish Raspberry Ripple ice-cream. €4 for a 1 litre tub, so pretty expensive for Aldi and it's not good at all. I find the ice cream products in Aldi pretty poor in general, they're much better in Lidl. Also detest those shopping baskets in Aldi.
I haven’t used a basket or trolley since covid, always use my own Dunnes Canvas bag/bags, when empty at the till I fold them flat & leave on top of my shopping so that they know that they are empty & when I open them back up I always pop them up on the counter so they can easily see that they are empty…
I shop daily or every second day for what’s needed so no food waste in our home (only 3 of us) …
I use my own bags in Dunnes, SuperValu, Lidl & Aldi and no one has ever said anything about it, maybe if shopping in a Dublin store or a large city it might be different.
Since start of Covid I have used a wicker basket with metal frame so never had to bother with the disinfecting of trolly etc. I keep a soft bag at bottom and visiting twice a week I can manage shopping easily. I also often park the basket as it gets heavy so I can go browse about the special aisles then pick up on way back to checkout. I always take the till receipt just in case I get checked but in over 5 yrs now never have been. It is christmas tree or a bag of compost that I have had to struggle to find a coin for a trolley.
Those plastic ones fold flat, but they'd only be suitable if you already bring a backpack or similar with you to work maybe? lightweight-ish, depending on how sturdy you want them
A mesh bag is probably good for a lot of people, if you're doing small shops without extra heavy items?
I'd just not use them because a bottle of laundry detergent or something else heavy would put pressure on it. Last thing I need is to have everything fall out of the bottom of the bag!
100% think we should all register our displeasure!
I don't drive and I shop in Aldi on the way home from the bus 3-4 days a week. I don't like the idea of using my own bag when it explicitly says not to, but are those folding baskets something you could have on you all day on your commute and at work? Or too big? I have already started going less frequently and choosing alternatives.
It's a stupid decision. I'll try contacting customer service to register my unhappiness!
I wouldn't use my own bag, I've worked in retail.
It's just not worth the side-eye, or if the shop has it's own security, the following around and monitoring! (i obviously look shady af 😁)
Would rather something like these folding baskets than a net/string bag (see through), as they can be really awkward for bulkier or heavier items
I think it all depends on the shop to be honest. I had no issues using my bag in Aldi in Baldoyle, in East Wall the security guard came over straight away to tell me to use a basket.
I can't believe this is even a thing😲 Never noticed any signs saying i can't use my own bag, doesn't mean they're not there of course. No one's ever stopped me from walking around with my bag either.
Not so much a protest as just easier. Despite having to walk past two banners at the door to say not to use your bag, never had a problem. I also make a point of turning my bag upside down at the till so they can see it’s empty.
My local Aldi and Lidl have had those baskets for ages, and Lidl has had the kids trolleys too.
It's very undignified cocking your arse up in the air to unload the basket after knocking a few kids charging about with their trolleys out of their standing.
I like the idea of using your own bag as a protest.
I use four or five different stores, and almost always use my own bag, have never had a word said to me. I must have an honest look about me!
They have signs up now in stores near me stating you can't use shopping bags until after the till, and security people come up and stop you (it has happened me 😮). May be branch dependent
I always bring a shopping bag with me (I have about 100 in the car) and just fill that. Empty it at the till, and fill it again quick-smart. I will never use one of those wheel-along baskets, ever.
Or else just grab one of the shallow actual trollies, if I have more than I can throw into a bag, or delicate stuff like bottles or eggs that can't be fired back into it.
In other news, I've been on a campaign to find out what ever happened to the dried mango and tropical trail mix - got hold of them on Twitter, and they keep insisting that they're part of their core stock and should be on the shelves. I keep telling them they're not, haven't been for months, and any staff I've ever asked say the same. They've now promised to follow up and find out what's going on.
Both are among my favourite producsts from Aldi, so I hope they find wherever they've hidden them all and put them back on sale!!
I've been raging against the bigger baskets in Lidl, too. They don't fit on the checkout counters so it means bending down to remove every item. I've contacted customer service about it twice and it seems that the staff hate them, too.
At least you can technically carry the lidl ones as well as wheel them and they are a little lighter I find, but still.
never thought about your own basket, wonder if they do fold up net ones or sth?
It has put me off going there if I only need a few things which is most of the time, and definitely less incentive to pick up impulse things to try if you are trying to manage holding your shopping in your hands to avoid using a wheely trolley
oh my god YES. I actually asked the store manager was this it for the small baskets and he said yes - their small ones kept getting stolen (?!)
Contacted customer care and they said the new basket/trolley things would be used alongside the old smaller baskets, not so in two Aldis local to me
I've a dodgy back and shoulders, trying to lift them as you said, and then unload them at the till makes me just grab a cardboard box instead whenever I go in
One of the staff members did suggest getting a shopping basket of my own to bring in and that they wouldn't mind that at all - which in fairness is probably my best bet as Lidl have the same issue but for much much longer
Lidl have introduced mini trolleys for kids now with a little flag on them. It's like being Pacman going around the shop now.
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