Quote:
Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive
I've never shopped at a Trader Joe's, though I've heard a lot of good things about them, largely from people who also patronize Aldi. Since both Aldi and Trader Joe's have the same parentage, so to speak, then I'm assuming that they're run similarly. Overall Aldi prices are not because of cheaper ingredients or a plethora of chemicals in their products, but because the stores run FAR more efficiently. Better-trained (and paid) workers, concentrate on the essentials (no bagging, shopping cart "service" that is pretty much self-serve, etc.), quick turnover of products, and a limit on the number of products sold (the average Aldi sells about 1,400 products while the average supermarket sells about 40,000) makes stocking far easier and quicker. I've rarely seen an Aldi with more than four workers on at a time. Publix? Probably 20 or more on average. Publix probably has huge overhead compared to Publix. That extra overhead translates into higher prices.
If Trader Joe's approach is similar, then I'd have no basis to believe that their products are any less healthy than, say, Publix. And I'd probably pay a heck of a lot less.
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I've shopped at both, love TJ's. Seemingly they are owned by brothers, but have no other connection. They are very different, but with some similarities. TJ's certainly does bag your groceries, & you do not rent a cart. TJ's to me seems cleaner & more well run. They do have more employees on the floor than Aldi & many more cashiers. TJ's does have more food items for sale & much less non-food, than Aldi. Aldi's been fun, but I would trade it for a TJ's in a heartbeat.