Aldi is always on the lookout for new ways to capture more market share in a rapidly evolving grocery industry.
Their latest idea aims to fulfills one of mankind’s most basic “kneads” — that for freshly baked bread!
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Try freshly baked bread at these Aldis
The grocery business is ever-changing. Last year saw the introduction of two new competitors — discount grocery Lidl and a reinvigorated Whole Foods (now owned by Amazon). And the competition is only expected to get more intense in 2018.
The latest idea Aldi is trying out involves a Bake Shop concept that features freshly made breads, donuts and other pastries — all of which are baked onsite at an in-store bakery!
This test is rolling out on a small scale, with in-store bakeries at a handful of stores in three states:
Illinois
Maryland
Wisconsin
There’s been no official word from Aldi on expansion plans for the in-store bakeries, but here’s hoping they come to a store near you!
Until then, you can look for the in-store bakeries at the above locations.
This isn't exactly Aldi's first foray into fresh-baked goods. Back in 2011, bakers in Aldi's native Germany were upset about the discount grocer offering miniature ovens in its stores that instantly baked fresh bread at the push of a button.
The ovens, which were roughly the size of a vending machine, charged 15 cents per loaf and delivered the bread less than two seconds after you pressed the button!
The bakers felt there’s no way the bread could be truly baked fresh on the spot. “We are not against Aldi selling bread,” the leader of a baker’s trade organization told The Wall Street Journal at that time. “But it’s unfair for them to say that it’s somehow better or different than the packaged stuff they sell on their shelves.”
However, one baker The Journal spoke with had to admit that the Aldi vending machine bread tasted great!
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