My Mum has an Aldi within a ten minute walk from her house and she spends so much time in there that we joke it’s her Mecca! When it first opened she didn’t use it as much as she does now because the ranges weren’t all that extensive and I have to admit that I may have even turned my nose up slightly. Over time and she now can do about 90% of her shopping in there (I thought it was less but she told me when I mentioned I was writing this post so I stand corrected) while I have become a bit of a convert myself I have to say.

My Mum was always stalwart and raved about it long before most people had even heard of them so she was utterly thrilled when they started introducing more and more things like fresh meats and she could do the majority of her shop in there – she saves an absolute fortune. She has even set herself experiments over the years for fun and does blind tasting (she ropes me in for that) where she buys products like mince pies from various shops and then makes people taste all of them to tell her which they like best. She always hops around with glee when mostly Aldi come out on top.

She’s such a fan and when we were on holiday last year (with my Mum) her and Florence spent every breakfast saying ‘These Chocolate Pillows (breakfast cereal) from Portugal are nice, but they’re not as nice as the Aldi ones’… My Mum also repeats the adverts for Aldi, you know, ‘I like this XYZ, but I also like this XYZ from Aldi’ changing it to ‘but I much prefer this XYZ from Aldi’ at the end… I think you get it… She’s a MAJOR fan, devotee might be more appropriate! 😉

My Mum’s top 10 (she can’t remember exact prices) best buys at Aldi are:

Fresh Orange Juice which is under £1.50, she says it’s not massively cheap for Aldi but is utterly delicious and way better than from anywhere else!

Large pots of yogurts which are under a pound last my Mum a week and she says they’re really rich and creamy!

Every week there is a selection of fresh veg and fruit for 69p! (Seriously, I always stock up when I visit, this is such a fab price and cheaper than even the markets near my house)!

Specially Selected Scotch Beef Burgers, 4 for £2.69, she says these are DELICIOUS!

Aldi chicken breasts wrapped in bacon and with a cheese filling are ready to cook and under £3. WHERE would you get two basic chicken breasts for under £3 let alone ones with bacon wrapped around them?

Free range chicken £4.99! Nuff said, that’s the bargain of bargains! A chicken can be eked out and last nearly a whole week if you know what to do with it but I will only buy free range now due to chicken welfare; sometimes even when using the meat for sandwiches and then making soup it’s too expensive – not at Aldi!

Moisturiser (Lacura day and night cream) under £2.25. (I use this too and I have to say it’s brilliant – I used to spend nearly £40 on moisturiser – this one is just as good, promise)!

Aldi equivalent of mini cheddars a multi bag for 89p. My Mum is a big fan of the mini cheesy biscuit!

Half a dozen free range eggs for under a pound, again, nothing more to be said about that! Don’t know anywhere else with this type of price!

My Mum also says the cheesy coleslaw, smoked salmon, tinned tomatoes (which are truly tasty) and chocolate brioche rolls are amazing amongst other things… She could go on for a long time about what she buys in Aldi though so I’m going to have to stop listing them at some point!

Personally, as well as the moisturiser, I’m rather keen on the wet wipes which as well as being the right level of moist, come in a pack with a click lock on the top so they never dry out. I can’t stand wipes which don’t and when Aldi stopped doing them a while back we noticed straight away. They’d re-instated it within weeks though so they obviously listen to the customer… I think the nappies are great too although I don’t use them often as I don’t have an Aldi near me, my Mum buys them for at her house and they’re great – super value!

What I really, really like is their ethics though. They say they’re no frills so that they can pass the savings on to the customer but their staff are always polite and friendly. They do have targets and have to get the customer through the tills quickly but it never feels unpleasant and they do take into consideration who they are serving so if it’s someone elderly, of course I have seen them helping. I think they care because they are paid well (and so they should be), they work hard and are rewarded for it. Aldi have a conscience! How many supermarkets can you say that about?

I went to an Aldi press/blogger day on Saturday and learnt so much more about the company and I think I’m going to be writing about them a lot more often from now on!! I like what they say and do and the fact that their morals are firmly in the right place is the cherry on top! We were lucky enough at the press/blogger day to be given an insight into who chooses the products for us to buy and why. How dedicated to quality they are and how they want all their ranges, but in particular the baby range, to be exactly right… They are, in my opinion, doing things perfectly by holding focus groups and listening to the customer… You simply can’t ask for anything more than that can you!

The bloggers press morning at Aldi was very interesting and just as I feel they care about products, staff and customers they had really been thoghtful for us bloggers too. The children had crayons and were entertained, we were well fed and watered and we were given a fantastic talk on blogging by Transatlantic Blonde which was super entertaining and very informative. My sister-in-law (pictured top left), Workitmamma, and I enjoyed it very much!

I think the bones of Aldi is that they want to give a fair price, a cheaper price than anywhere else in fact but they don’t want to scrimp on the quality of the product. They might not have an in-store Star Bucks and they may not have many well known brands because they prefer to produce their own, at the till you have to pack bags yourself and sometimes there are a few random products which’ll make you laugh (each week they have specials, mainly non food related, that are ‘when they’re gone, they’re gone’ promotions) like the time there were wet suits in the Norwich store near my Mum. I tell you what though, those wet suits went in a flash! So they might not have the flashier side of supermarket shopping but they do have quality. My husband is the biggest shop snob there is and when my Mum did a taste test on him to choose Aldi’s ‘Dairy Fine’ milk chocolate or (his fave) ‘Cadbury’s’, no one was more surprised to find that he couldn’t tell the difference!

They do a lot of ‘lookie likie’ products in Aldi but do they work as well? Well, like I mentioned, the chocolate came out the same for us. Other things I have found the same result with or found I actually prefer them – I hate frozen pizza but their tomato, mozerella and basil one is divine. I really like their version of Pimms too, last summer I think it was about £6 and it tasted masses nicer! Their baby bath I like more than branded ones too, it’s a much more delicate smell to others on the market, a hell of a lot cheaper and it lasts loads longer. I’m trying out the ‘Almat’ washing liquid cubes right now so I’ll let you know how we go but generally speaking, we like what we buy and value for money means everything! The baby blanket (photographed) which will be a ‘special’ in Aldi’s up-coming baby event starting 30th May is under £3! Under £3! So I’ve let Florence have one for her baby dolls which she was thrilled with. It’s big, soft and has a sweet appliqued mouse on the side, it comes with a lovely bow around it when rolled up and would make a fab gift! They do have some branded products, really big ones like Heinz baby food, but their own are just as good in my opinion so for me, I rather like it without the big names!

I think what Aldi have proved over the years is that they are affordable with quality products and now they are doing a fantastic job of becoming real competitors for them to be considered as an alternative to other supermarkets for everything, not just a few bits here and there. I wish there was an Aldi nearer to me and that seems to be the only downfall, there’s not enough of them! If there was one closer to me but still not within walking distance I would make a special trip to go because they really are fab, unfortunately it would take half an hour in the car at the moment and that’s just not feasible. We stock up when at my Mum’s though and are about to embark on a bit of Aldi testing in general so do watch this space and come back for more Aldi news soon – there will be lots coming up!

And don’t forget, the Aldi Baby Event starts on 30th May. Things like their nappies which start at just £1.69 for a pack of 24 new born ones remain the same price no matter what. Aldi want you to know that if something costs X amount one week then it will still cost X amount next week too but during the event there will be special purchases that are not normally on offer, swim nappies and the blanket I mentioned above to name but a few! Happy shopping!

I have not been paid to write this post and all opinions are entirely my own (or my Mother’s in this post’s case)!