As Eat This, Not That explains, California-based Trader Joe's and its 557 U.S. stores (per ScrapeHero) are a subsidiary of German chain Aldi Nord, the sibling company of Aldi Süd, which Americans know simply as Aldi, the home of such fan-favorite house brands as Mama Cozzi's pizzas, Clancy's snacks, and Winking Owl ...
Owned by a German company called Albrecht Discounts, ALDI is a discount grocery chain that started in Germany in 1948.
The company employ approximately 13,180 people, operates throughout Australia and is administered by its head office in Minchinbury, New South Wales. ALDI Stores (A Limited Partnership) is a wholly owned subsidiaries of Austria-based supermarket company, Hofer KG.
Theodor Paul Albrecht (German: [ˈalbʁɛçt]; 28 March 1922 – 24 July 2010) was a German entrepreneur. He established the discount supermarket chain Aldi with his brother Karl Albrecht.
Trader Joe's and Aldi were fairly aligned with respect to most pantry and meat products, and the winner of the lowest price seesawed from item to item. The big exception is that Trader Joe's seems untouchable when it comes to discount prices on coffee, oils and nuts.
The one big thing Trader Joe's and Aldi have in common
They've both owned by the same people. According to Reader's Digest, Trader Joe's founder Joe Coulombe sold his business to Theo Albrecht in 1979, officially making the Albrecht family the proud owners of both prosperous markets.
The brothers also chose to divide the world, so that Aldi Australia, UK, and China are Aldi Sud; Aldi France, Denmark, and Poland are Aldi Nord. Both Aldis coexist peacefully here in the U.S., though — Aldi is actually operated by Aldi Sud, while Aldi Nord purchased Trader Joe's in the late 1970s.
They split in 1960 in a dispute over whether to sell cigarettes, drawing a line through Germany that created Aldi Nord and Aldi Sued. The two branches now have more than 10,000 stores combined, both in Germany and in international markets like the UK.
Theo and Karl Albrecht took their mother's thrifty corner store, still standing in Essen, Germany, after World War II, and turned it into a low-cost supermarket chain that today spans over a dozen countries across Europe and the US.
After the death of Theo's son Berthold, Aldi Nord continues to be controlled by the Albrecht family through its Markus, Lukas and Jakobus foundations, which hold a combined 80.5 per cent of the company's issued capital.
Australian farms are the first place we go for our fresh meat, fruit and veg. We call it our Aussie first supplier policy and it means we'll always source from Australian growers, whenever we can. Not only does this support local farmers, but the taste and quality can't be beaten.
The largest shareholders of Aldi are members of the Albrecht family, and they own the grand majority of Aldi through two foundations. The Markus Foundation and the Lukas Foundation own about 80% of Aldi Nord; the Jakobus Foundation owns Aldi Sud.
Why is Aldi so cheap? At most supermarkets, you'll find tons of name-brand items, but at Aldi, a whopping 90% of the products are private label. By avoiding brand names, Aldi can skip going through another company and offer you cheaper prices.
Aldi sources its products from all over the world.
You will regularly find food and Aldi Finds sourced or made in the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, Thailand, China and a handful of other countries across the globe. If you want to know where something is made from Aldi simply look on the packaging.
In 1961 the brothers changed the name to Aldi, which is short for Albrecht Discount, and the business continued to grow.
In 2010, his father Theo Albrecht died, leaving the ownership of the German supermarket chain Aldi Nord and US supermarket chain Trader Joe's to his two sons, Theo Jr.
However, Aldi had faced fierce competition in Denmark with 4 other very strong competitors and has not been able to attract Danish consumers. Rema, the Norwegian discounter, has acquired the Aldi chain in Denmark. Thus, the circle is closed in a way. It was the Aldi founders who inspired the Norwegian Rema founders.
Aldi is known for bringing in private label brands instead of the more popular brands, and it also has its own store brands as well. And while Aldi does carry some household names, there are a few hidden gems that can replace those items for a fraction of the cost.
If you like the vibe of Aldi, you're going to want to visit Trader Joe's. And we're not just saying that because the two are siblings, either. The two stores are closely related, with Aldi making up the U.S. branch of Aldi Süd and Trader Joe's comprising the U.S. branch of Aldi Nord.
To use an American analogy, they are like Sam's Club and Costco: two companies that use a similar method to doing business but are out to outsell one another. The families that own Lidl and Aldi (keep in mind that Aldi is technically two companies) are completely separate from one another.
A popular misconception about Aldi U.S. BB #:116756 is that it's a sibling company, or at least a cousin, to Trader Joe's BB #:162286. It is not. While the two chains have some similarities, with both following a low-price, private-label-dependent strategy, they are independently owned and operated.
Trader Joe's is owned by German billionaires Karl and Theo Albrecht, who also own the Aldi food chain. The change apparently does not affect products containing multiple ingredients, of which some may be from China.
Owned by the German retail company, Aldi Nord, Trader Joe's is one of the most popular grocery chains in the United States, and it is often viewed with fondness, like a light-hearted, quirky neighborhood farmer that brings you interesting things to eat.