Aldi and Lidl

MissGull · Jul 29, 2014

Okay, so there was a Dispatches programme last night about the rise of the 'discounters'. Lots of people cooing about halving their shopping bill, the food is superior and their lives are so much better. (What with the random ski-ing gear and tool belts, i'd imagine)

Now, i've tried the Aldi in Boundary Road and the one in London Road a few year back and I left as quick as I could, empty handed, thinking that it was the last place I'd want to shop. (Not snobbery...well a bit, but also I didn't understand the concept or trust any of the 'brands'.)

Should I really try again? It's a shame there aren't any proper sized stores of Lidl and Aldi around, as the ones on the programme looked much more appealing. Plus East Brighton, Portslade and London Road are just not convenient places to shop.

Simster · Jul 29, 2014

Yes, you should. Aldi and Lidl are both fantastic shops - we often go to the one in Dorking, which is a decent size (but probably not much use to you).

The only thing is that you have to be flexible because they don't necessarily stock the same thing week in week out.

Not Andy Naylor · Jul 29, 2014

I often use the Sainsbury's in the so-called "New England Quarter" but wander down to the Aldi on London Road for some basics - fruit and veg, cereals and bakery stuff. Some of their own-brand stuff is pretty poor, some is decent - but at those prices I imagine most people can afford a bit of trial and error.

Guinness Boy · Jul 29, 2014

MissGull said:
Okay, so there was a Dispatches programme last night about the rise of the 'discountners'. Lots of people cooing about halving their shopping bill, the food is superior and their lives are so much better. (What with the random ski-ing gear and tool belts, i'd imagine)

Now, i've tried the Aldi in Boundary Road and the one in London Road a few year back and I left as quick as I could, empty handed, thinking that it was the last place I'd want to shop. (Not snobbery...well a bit, but also I didn't understand the concept or trust any of the 'brands'.)

Should I really try again? It's a shame there aren't any proper sized stores of Lidl and Aldi around, as the ones on the programme looked much more appealing. Plus East Brighton, Portslade and London Road are just not convenient places to shop.

The Portslade one is very convenient for me thanks

They are really good for veg and potatoes and their version of Pimm's (Austin's) at £5.50 a bottle has been rocking our summer. HOWEVER - I don't use them regularly because of the restriction on name brands and because they have so few tills and staff it can take ages to get out and because the good stuff can be out of stock quickly and because I prefer to get my meat from Wickendens or Canhams or Henry's depending on what bit of town we're in.

Thunder Bolt · Jul 29, 2014

Simster said:
Yes, you should. Aldi and Lidl are both fantastic shops - we often go to the one in Dorking, which is a decent size (but probably not much use to you).

The only thing is that you have to be flexible because they don't necessarily stock the same thing week in week out.

I agree. Aldi & Lidl are both from Germany, so the brands that you (MissGull) don't recognise are likely to be European. The Germans don't buy rubbish.
I like our local Lidl. I bought Jersey Royal potatoes for 79p for a couple of weeks, when Sainsburys over the road was charging £1.99 for the same weight.

brighton_girl87 · Jul 29, 2014

Aldi is great for fruit and veg, especially the weekly "super 6" - 6 different items for 69p or less each.

I did my weekly shop in there yesterday for £11. But then I don't eat meat and I'm only cooking for myself.

MissGull · Jul 29, 2014

Anyone used the Lidl in Worthing?

Cian · Jul 29, 2014

Their brands are manufactured by the same people who make the ownbrands in any of the other supermarkets - as you'll see the odd time there's a recall and Waitrose ready meals are recalled alongside Aldi. Their fruit and veg are usually much better quality than Tesco at least. There's an utterly ridiculous snobbery about them for no good reason - the random aisles of stuff don't help by providing comedy fodder though.

Over time Lidl has started stocking more brands of the items where people refuse to change for taste or other reasons - my local one sells Coke, Pepsi, Heinz products, Lyons Tea (Unilever brand like Lipton), etc.

Mackenzie · Jul 29, 2014

I like Aldi, the German ones are better though (obviously).

lola · Jul 29, 2014

Here (middle of nowhere east Finland city of Joensuu) we have Lidl and most of those products are actually made here in Finland. We are also a bit suspicious for german brands :glare:

El Sid · Jul 29, 2014

We use Aldi all the time now. Excellent value.
My only gripe is they don't sell German defenders and strikers.

MattBackHome · Jul 29, 2014

Aldi is ****ing QUALLA.

Hyperion · Jul 29, 2014

Rather than dismissing the products, go in there with a mindset of sifting out the real crap and the stuff that looks.of better quality, after all, it's kinda what you do with the brands you know and within your budget.

pasty · Jul 29, 2014

Nowt wrong with the Lidl down on Arundel Road in Brighton. Go there often.

Bwian · Jul 29, 2014

I use Lidl once in a while when they have brand name specials. Bought a rice cooker a couple of months ago for 9.99 and it works great and was good value. Did an 'emergency shop' last week for a few items (meat mainly) and I won't be getting any more from them. Never had that white ooze from chicken before, it was horrible. Pork products the same. I can see the attraction in shopping there because some of their stuff is much cheaper than the Big 4 but you do get get what you pay for when it comes to meat...looks like I'm going to have to pay Sainsbury prices (Tesco not much better quality than Lidl for meat in my opinion plus I loathe Tesco ).

sam86 · Jul 29, 2014

MissGull said:
Anyone used the Lidl in Worthing?

Yep. We used to do all our shopping at Sainsburys (Lyons Farms), but thought we'd give Lidl in Worthing a go. Now we go weekly.
We now save about £20 a week on shopping. Fruit, veg, and meat are the biggest savings.
The fruit and veg also seems to last at least 2-3 days longer.
We find ourselves still having to go to Sainsburys to buy one or two branded items Lidl's doesn't stock, but we're used to that now.
The only negative I have is that with only 2/3 tills open, it can take awhile to get through the till, so we go fairly late on a weekday now.

Pogue Mahone · Jul 29, 2014

It's great that we have a Lidl so close to Asda at the Marina. Every week, half an hour in Lidl for all the basics, then half an hour in Asda for the stuff Lidl don't have. The result? Less time and money spent, more variety available. The only problem is that Lidl is getting busier every week, too many people are catching on.

nicko31 · Jul 29, 2014

Bwian said:
I use Lidl once in a while when they have brand name specials. Bought a rice cooker a couple of months ago for 9.99 and it works great and was good value. Did an 'emergency shop' last week for a few items (meat mainly) and I won't be getting any more from them. Never had that white ooze from chicken before, it was horrible. Pork products the same. I can see the attraction in shopping there because some of their stuff is much cheaper than the Big 4 but you do get get what you pay for when it comes to meat...looks like I'm going to have to pay Sainsbury prices (Tesco not much better quality than Lidl for meat in my opinion plus I loathe Tesco ).

Lidl sell free range chicken and pork, plus MSC Salmon and Prawns. They have the cheap stuff but have quality also if you are prepared to pay a little more. Lidl strategy is simple, limit choice, medium quality and low price

Hyperion · Jul 29, 2014

nicko31 said:
, plus NSC Salmon and Prawns.

Clearly Fishing

sam86 · Jul 29, 2014

Bwian said:
I use Lidl once in a while when they have brand name specials. Bought a rice cooker a couple of months ago for 9.99 and it works great and was good value. Did an 'emergency shop' last week for a few items (meat mainly) and I won't be getting any more from them. Never had that white ooze from chicken before, it was horrible. Pork products the same. I can see the attraction in shopping there because some of their stuff is much cheaper than the Big 4 but you do get get what you pay for when it comes to meat...looks like I'm going to have to pay Sainsbury prices (Tesco not much better quality than Lidl for meat in my opinion plus I loathe Tesco ).

That's interesting. Which Lidl did you use? I trust you checked the use by date?

We find the Lidl chicken as good, if not better, and we used to buy the more expensive welfare chicken at Sainsburys.

I think they have cheaper chicken, and free range chicken. Maybe you bought the cheaper chicken?

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