Germany’s discounters have grown with their own brands. Although Aldi, Lidl, Penny and Co. are increasingly putting well-known products on the shelves, the majority of the product range is still made up of private labels. In the past, they were not only able to convince with low prices, but also with reasonable quality. The reason for this is simple: many of the no-name foods are produced by brand manufacturers.
“Aldization” of trade
But why do manufacturers produce extra variants for discounters? “Many manufacturers were afraid when the “Aldisation” was in full swing at the beginning of this century and everyone only went to Aldi,” psychologist Stephan Grünewald told ZDF. “For a long time, Aldi didn’t take brand products into account. So producing became an important sales channel for discounters, the second mainstay of many manufacturers, so to speak.
Brand manufacturers and Aldi products
In terms of quality, branded and discounter products do not take much. According to an evaluation of the Stiftung Warentest results, the groceries from Lidl, Aldi and Co. are only slightly behind the branded products. Well-known manufacturers receive an average grade of 2.05 for their goods. Directly behind is Lidl with a grade of 2.49 and Aldi with 2.56. “Consumers want a quality guarantee. This is often the case with Aldi products, for example, which has been confirmed in many cases by Stiftung Warentest,” said Stephan Grünewald to “ZDF”.
In our series, we show popular products from Aldi Nord’s own brands – and their well-known manufacturers.