Aldi has opened exclusive food shops where products can be snapped up at rock-bottom prices. But there’s a catch: regular customers won’t find these stores anywhere.
The discount retailer is rolling out staff-only shops at its distribution centres, selling products that aren’t suitable for regular shelves but are still perfectly safe to eat.
Among the offerings will be products close to their best-before dates or ones with damaged packaging.
It’s a clever move that tackles food waste while giving Warehouse Operations and Office colleagues access to even cheaper groceries than the supermarket’s already low prices.
The initiative follows a successful trial at the company’s Darlington distribution centre, proving popular enough to expand nationwide.
Now, these special stores are operating at all 11 of Aldi’s regional distribution centres across the UK, from Bathgate in Scotland to Sheppey in Kent.
The distribution centres hosting these colleague shops are spread across the country – Bolton, Goldthorpe and Sawley in the north, Atherstone and Neston in the Midlands, plus Cardiff in Wales.
Southern workers can visit the shops at Swindon, Chelmsford and Sheppey, while Scottish staff have access at Bathgate.
‘The colleague shop is another example of how we’re working to cut food waste’
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The Darlington centre, where the idea was tested, continues to run its successful operation.
Once rolled out, the scheme is set to prevent around 240 tonnes of food from being binned each year.
“The colleague shop is another example of how we’re working to cut food waste across our operations,” said national sustainability director at Aldi UK, Luke Emery.
“It’s a practical initiative that benefits both colleagues and the environment, and we’re pleased to extend it nationwide following a successful pilot.”
Aldi is officially the UK’s cheapest supermarket
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The colleague shops form part of Aldi’s wider strategy to reduce food waste by 90 per cent by 2030 against a 2017 baseline.
Alongside these new shops, Aldi has also introduced “reduction zones” in stores nationwide, where shoppers can find discounted items nearing their sell-by dates.
Sustainability boss Mr Emery commented: “Our customers already know they can rely on us to provide unbeatable value, but our new reduction areas will make it even easier to pick up a last-minute bargain.
“By creating dedicated reduction zones in store, we’re helping point shoppers towards quality food at cheaper prices, all while cutting down on food waste.”
The discounter was recently named the UK’s cheapest supermarket, as inflation pushes food prices up by 5.1 per cent.
According to an analysis by Which?, a typical basket of 75 everyday items would set shoppers back £127.92 at Aldi.
This narrowly beat rival Lidl, where the same basket came in at £128.35.
Meanwhile, a similar shop at Waitrose amounted to £172.61, a 35 per cent premium compared with Aldi.