Aldi have launched an upmarket food range to compete with leading brands such as Marks and Spencer and Waitrose.
The line of luxury items and hampers has come out to coincide with the festive season.
New Luxury Range
The 2016 festive season will be rounded out by the new luxury range, which includes food hampers. Aldi will be selling the Specially Selected range both online and in stores, and it is a limited edition.
Each of the hampers is filled with products which are selected from specialist producers and artisan suppliers, most of them based in the UK.
The premium hamper range is a step above, and will allow customers to choose from 5 products. The Chocolate Lovers’ Hamper is one of the lower priced hampers at £19.94. Right up at the other end of the scale, at a price that normal Aldi customers might not expect, is The Exquisite Hamper at £98.37.
So what’s in it that makes it so expensive? The Exquisite Hamper includes a bottle of luxury wine, a Christmas pudding, truffles, a bottle of champagne, luxury biscuits, and some top-quality chocolate.
While it may seem expensive, it is still greatly reduced in price compared to similar ranges on sale elsewhere. The Fortnum and Mason signature hamper, for example, is available at a price of £151.63 more.
Some of the items on sale on an individual basis in the Aldi range include Exquisite Mince Pies and a selection of luxury truffles. These will set you back just £2.99 for the pies and £4.99 for the truffles. If you are looking for a jewelled Christmas pie, then you can also get one in this range, at a price of £14.99.
A Step Up
Tony Baines, Joint Managing Director of Corporate Buying at Aldi, said: “With Christmas being a magical time of indulging loved ones with the finest foods, wines and gifts, amazing quality needn’t cost a fortune. We believe that everyone should be able to afford the very best, which is why we simply refuse to be beaten on price, especially at Christmas when the average household shopping bill can exceed £794.39, with gifts making up a spend of £473.46 per family.”
Aldi are certainly taking a step up in their ranges with this new addition. However, there have been signs of lower-cost supermarkets moving in this direction for some time. Lidl recently made headlines when they began selling the cheapest lobster in Britain at just £2.99. That’s certainly the kind of bargain that could make luxury fare more accessible for low income households.
So how do they get their prices so low compared to other brands? It starts with new product development, where specialists look at the cheapest possible ways of producing new items. Once a range has been designed, there can be further price costs in areas such as packaging and storage. The best way to save money is to have the least packaging and the simplest design, as this does not then require specialist set-ups in processing factories.
Next, it’s a case of chasing down the cheapest deals in the supply chain. If one supplier can provide lower priced lobsters, then of course they will be the first choice. Quality may come second to this specification, so long as the food is fit for consumption and of a good enough size.
Some shops may also choose to take a loss at certain times. If the supermarket can make a loss on the sales of one item, but use it to entice new customers into the shop, they may see an increased profit overall.
