The “Aisle of Shame” is the unofficial name Aldi enthusiasts have given the store’s middle aisle, home to a weekly rotation of curious edible and non-edible products available only while supplies last. We’re talking everything from vegan lasagna made from lentils to a churro maker and apple cinnamon latte-flavored dog biscuits. The recipe for the Aisle of Shame’s surprising cult status combines the joy of a bargain, the thrill of discovery, the allure of the unusual, and the satisfaction of snapping up a limited-time offer.
“It’s something that you can use to express yourself and add fun and joy to your grocery shopping,” says enthusiastic shopper Brenna Bazemore of its odd assortment of products. “I hate grocery shopping, but I love to go to Aldi and shop, because I know I’m at least going to get something that I can use outside of food and that’s always exciting to me.”
While each week’s AOS items can often seem like a compilation of randomness, a method exists. Since Aldi keeps prices low by stocking about 1,400 products (mostly staples) compared to a conventional grocery store’s 40,000, the AOS introduces more excitement and variety for shoppers. The aisle, which each week is split 50-50 between edible and non-edible items, often has a theme, whether seasonal (pumpkin foods in the fall; pool products in the summer) or regional (many AOS enthusiasts plan meals of schnitzel, spätzle, and strudel around the aisle’s German Week). Nils Brandes, a retail consultant who has co-written a book on Aldi’s business strategies, estimates that 20 percent of all yearly sales come from these products.
The Aisle of Shame is also where the grocers test new products to gauge their popularity—the vegetarian and vegan Earth Grown and gluten-free LiveGfree product lines, for instance, advanced from the AOS to the main aisles. “It’s crazy to think this is a grocery-store community,” Bazemore says.
After some thought, McKillip observes that Aldi shoppers might be more down-to-earth, their need to make a dollar stretch giving them both a healthier perspective about the products and more joy when they have room in their carts and budgets for the AOS’s more quirky products. Ultimately, though, she offers a simpler explanation: “It’s fun.”
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“you’ve got bad eating habits if you use a grocery cart in 7-eleven.”
-dennis miller
I have never been inside an Aldi’s, but now I am wondering what else I am missing out on.
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aldi’s and trader joe’s are owned by german brothers, each with a different approach to grocery shopping, though some things are similar. aldi’s is pretty bare bones, bring your own bags or use their boxes or buy a cheap bag there, rent a cart for 25cents and not glam at all. but – it is fun to visit, as it often has very quirky items and the prices are pretty cheap, very friendly, rare to find a name brand unless it is a euro brand, and something about it is always an adventure. hard to describe but something about it…
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I have one just down the street from my house. I now feel compelled to stop in. Thanks for clueing me in, Beth!
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when it first opened, i stopped in and was way underwhelmed, but i went back a year later when it found it’s groove, and while i don’t do all of my shopping there, i always find something and enjoy the experience
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I’ve never been inside an Aldi’s store. I enjoy grocery shopping and occasionally make a trip to Grocery Outlet for the fun of looking at everything and finding something unique at a good price. However, since I enjoy the task, I end up buying more than I need simply because the price is spectacular. It’s a good thing though, since the next time I go back, the product is no longer available!
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sounds like a grocery adventure!
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I get crazy down that aisle, buy things that we will never eat and then throw it away 6 months later. I try and avoid it theses days.
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like the beer and cheese advent calendar? )
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My wife once bought two folding canvas sun chairs from that aisle in Aldi. They are still going strong years later, after being passed on to her daughter.
Best wishes, Pete.
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ha! fantastic.
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Very interesting share.
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it’s kind of an interesting shopping phenomenon
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It is unique.
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Where do I sign up? 😉
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I think you’d love this
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Yes! Just looking at the ads now.
Stuck with Walmart here. 😦
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I’m a shopper at Aldi, if not exclusively, and I’m always fascinated by the speedy checkout system: that’s an experience all of its own !!
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I love that too ! The cashier sitting down and relaxed and the fastest friendliest most efficient checkout ever
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Fun! I never realized the aisle had a name!!
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I love that it does
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There is an Aldi store just half a mile from my front door …
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You might check it out one day….
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What first caught my eye in an Aldis was the way the brand names were a letter or two off from what I was accustomed to in the other stores, Beth. Such as, Del Monte gave way to Dal Minto, with a similar-looking but not exact log. Or something like that.
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I had no idea! There’s no Aldi near us but I use Lidl which I believe has a similar aisle.
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I’ve never been in an Aldi’s but this is so very cool.
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Never been to an Aldis…sounds like I’ve been missing something.
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I used to go to Aldi 34 years ago in England before moving to Florida. I was delighted when Aldi finally arrived here. Their chocolate and biscuits are the best.
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I love people who make more fun in life. Though nothing has yet enticed me to enjoy shopping. Not even the AOS. 🙂
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At least you know it’s out there and enjoy the spirit of it )
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Amen.
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Pingback: aisle of shame. — I didn’t have my glasses on…. – johnrieber
I shared this…fascinating and funny!
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Great!
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Actually, that sounds quite smart! Somebody is thinking… Are the alarms going off?
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I had no idea this Aldi aisle had a name. Thank you for sharing this story. I will never view this aisle in the same way. Just a few days ago, I bought a hyacinth bulb there. It’s in a tiny vase, growing roots as the plant grows. In a week or so, I should have a lovely blooming pink flower. Last year I bought one for my son and he loved it. This adds a bit of spring to a cold January in Minnesota.
Aldi is my primary grocery shopping store. Prices are so much lower than other stores in town. However, because stock is limited, I always end up at another grocer to pick up the items I can’t find at Aldi. And recently Aldi has been low or out of stocks on some staples…like kleenex and dairy products.
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Yes, glad you enjoy the store too, and I use other grocers too
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Ok. Now I wish we had an Aldi.
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Next time you’re somewhere that has one, stop in for a visit
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I’m going to have to!
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We have several Aldis in the area, but I’ve never been to one. Might have to check one out now:)
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Yay!
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We have the Lidl stores here, another German-owned competitor along lines of Aldi. At least, we love that center aisle! I’ve bought everything from spices to sweats to sewing machine from that aisle. And of course, the most fun is the sheer surprise of what shows up there each time I go. Now that we live on an island, I’m not a frequent center-aisle shopper, but I try to pop in when I’m in Glasgow.
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I so get this!!
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We’ve only recently gotten an Aldi in our town and I haven’t been, so now I’m curious!
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Stop in sometime-)
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I’ve never been in an Aldi’s nor, since you mentioned it, a Trader Joe’s. And we have both in this area.
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They are both interesting stores
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Never knew that existed. We’ve an Aldi close by but we’ve never shopped there…
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Check it out sometime, it’s sure to be an interesting experience
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Will do!
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True. Pass the chips.
Sent from my iPad
>
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I’m on it!
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Beth, you are definitely the source for all kinds of information.
I now want to go to an Aldi, and I hate shopping.
Do they have them in NY?
Blessings! ♥
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Not sure if they’re there but I can’t imagine there aren’t any close. I love finding and sharing the interesting things in the world –
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You are my source now 🙂
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Aldi is special. I have been there for the first time during the first lockdown to check it out. There is one item we keep buying from them since. It is one coffee brand that is inexpensive and really good.
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Cool!
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I really like these longer pieces. And I’ve never been to Aldi’s. I should go.
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Just stop by once for fun)
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Beth I shop at Aldi occasionally. However in Florida, the store is like a walk in freezer and even though I wear a down jacket (I keep in my car) I need to rush in and out. I’ve seen the “Isle of shame” and will hopefully the store will be less freezing and I can check the items out. Claudia
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I hope so too, Claudia)
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I just requested to be part of a private Aldi Face Bookgroup and shortly after was hacked. Do you think there was a connection?
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ooh, i hope not, and if it was the one in the article, it has been up and running for awhile, so probably not from them –
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Okay
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I’ve been to an Aldi a couple of times, but I’ve never noticed the AOS. Now I have a reason to go back! Seems like another fun place to go grocery shopping, like Trader Joes…
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Right, in a bit different way! Joe’s and Aldi’s are owned by brothers each with a unique grocery vision
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Been to Aldi and to Trader Joe’s..I do love alot of their groceries. Some are different from other Grocery stores.
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yes, exactly
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This is a new one on me—The Aisle of Shame. It sounds like a daytime soap opera.🤣 I don’t particularly like shopping, but I would walk down this aisle for the mere experience of seeing what’s there.
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it never fails to be a mix of things you wouldn’t expect to find together
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No Aldi’s here… where I lived before they had a “Super Cheap” which was like an Aladdin’s Cave and you never knew what you would find…nothing like that here though…Sounds just the same…I love quirk 🙂
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yes, that’s how it is, some basic staples mixed in with lots of quirky items
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love this: the weird in the everyday; Aldi is known in Oz for its strange, off kilter , strangely likeable ads 🙂
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yes, something if just a bit different there
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That’s the best quote of all time. I swear I’ve seen it. The aisle of shame; that’s a sociological experiment waiting to happen. Hmmm….
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I loved the quote too and oh, it so is
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It’s been decades since I’ve been in al Aldi’s, but I remember going on shopping trips there with my Grandma when I was a kid. I have no recollection of any Aisle of Shame, but I do remember Rodeo Bill chips….
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ooh –
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The Dennis Miller quote on a shopping cart in a 7-11 is fun too!
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yes )
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I had no idea there was a whole community around this. That is so much fun! People are great. 🙂
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My family keeps telling me about Aldi’s but now I want to go and I hate shopping! Thanks Beth for this Article! It was fun to read and it also showed me a new World of Adventure!
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it’s very bare bones, but truly a shopping adventure
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I am excited to check it out!
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