History

How A Disagreement About Cigarettes Split Aldi In Half By Lottë Reford Dec. 2, 2025 4:00 pm EST

The Aldi story usually goes like this; the brand was founded in Germany in 1961, as the country's first discount grocer. It was a success in Germany, and, in 1976, the first U.S. Aldi opened in Iowa City, Iowa. The model of affordable, white-labelled staples; small, navigable stores; and quick shelf stacking utilizing the boxes Aldi products are shipped in , worked just as well across the pond as it had in Europe. Soon, Aldi expanded across the Midwest, and beyond. Today, Aldi is America's fastest growing grocery store , after doubling its market share over the last six years.

But this account glosses over the family drama at heart of the Aldi story. In reality, the com

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