Why Meat Is So Cheap At Aldi

Aldi has a reputation for being one of the cheapest grocery stores around; you can find savings on everything from household items to pantry staples, and we wouldn't be surprised if it became your go-to spots for affordable produce. Customers also really love its meat department. The Germany-based supermarket chain sells chicken, pork, beef, and more for knock-down prices — in some cases, far less than you would see in other national grocery stores. But how does Aldi get away with selling meat for such low prices without the entire chain going under? Part of the reason, as it happens, is that Aldi sources some of its meats regionally.

When a grocery store sources inventory in a close proximity to where it's sold, it saves serious money on transportation. Instead of getting its meat from just one supplier, Aldi has partnerships with multiple farms located across the country, so residents in California might get their beef from a different cattle ranch than their family members in Ohio. It all meets Aldi's quality standards, but the shorter distance from farm to store saves the company money, which it then passes onto the customer. Bonus: this also means the meat in store is fresher, since it hasn't been sitting on a truck for the duration of a longer transport.

Another reason Aldi can sell its beef, pork, poultry, and seafood for knock-down prices is that it often does so under its own brand name, like Kirkwood for its chicken, Never Any! for a variety of higher quality meats, and Simply Nature for organic products. Instead of paying for big name brands to sit on its shelves, Aldi instead sources directly from the supplier, slaps its own private label on the packaging, and passes the savings onto the customer.

Now, Aldi already has low prices on meat, but you can get even better deals if you know when to shop. Occasionally, you might find meat marked down with a 50% off sticker (or lesser amounts of $1 or $2 off), but there is no specific day or time where discounts are guaranteed. You can always try looking at the Sell By dates and then coming back to the store a day before to snag potential markdowns. Employees tend to mark meats down in the morning, too, so try getting there early, as soon as your store opens. If you want to save even more money at Aldi, check your weekly Aldi Savers and Aldi Finds. Both of these discount programs release new batches of savings every Wednesday morning, which will more often than not include great prices on your favorite meat products.