ALDI is known for its cheap food, and four of the reasons why it has some of the best deals on meat has been revealed.
Meat from Aldi is sold under the brand name Kirkwood, but the brand is yet to say why exactly their prices are able to get so low.
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Chicken breasts can be seen go for £3.99 per pound, thin-sliced ribeye steak is $9.99 per pound, and boneless pork chops are $4.69 per pound.
Many have thought the cheap prices are due to the meat being locally sourced, with some evidence backing this up.
This includes Poulty Buying Director Scott Gerbec, who said in a video that the discount supermarket buys from within the U.S. at both a regional and national level.
However, this is not the only reason.
And in the U.K., cheap chicken from Aldi has been linked to low quality meat as animals are mistreated, bred to grow faster, and develop heart problems.
There are other factors to take into account here.
1. Aldi foregoes the butcher
When it comes to beef, Aldi uses the same as many other U.S. retailers, with 85% coming from JBS USA, Tyson Foods Inc, Cargill Inc, and National Beef Stacking Company.
However, unlike other chains, Aldi does not do the slicing or packaging in-house.
It is instead done by the suppliers, which helps cut down overall costs of the meat.
2. Aldi (mostly) sells store-brand products
Similar to Trader Joe’s, Aldi is able to make its products cheap due to selling store-brand rather than name-brand items.
Using exclusively products made by the company therefore costs less money for them.
Professor at the University of Florida, Amy Pan, told the Warrington College of Business: “Store brands with intermediate quality serve as a credible threat to intensify upstream competition and induce better wholesale contracts in spite of their negligible sales.”
3. Low staffing
Aldi stores don’t have baggers, and this is not a role that is available at the chain.
They instead focus on hiring speedy cashiers, which allows the supermarket to offer lower prices than its competitors.
Aldi also hires less people across the board.
There is an average of around four to six workers in a store per shift, according to an online consensus completed by former workers.
This does vary depending on location.
4. Frequent sales
Aldi generally has weekly sales, called Aldi Finds, every Wednesday.
Additionally, meat is often an included on this list.
Other sales run in the store too, such as the “Get a Quarterback Sale”, which provides for your Super Bowl party needs, where meat is often included.
Meat options from Aldi also tend to go on sale a few days before it expires, reaching as much as 50 per cent off the day before the sell-by date.
How many Aldi stores are there in the US?
AS of May 12, 2025, there are 2,510 Aldi stores operating across 41 states and territories in the United States.
Florida leads with 244 locations, followed by Illinois (215), Ohio (170).
In 2025, the company plans to open 225 new stores.
