It's no surprise that many people are obsessed with Aldi. The store offers low prices and food that many customers love. But even if it's part of your normal shopping routine, you may not know much about the store.
Here are a few surprising things about this German discount import that you may not know.
SEE ALSO: Super cheap German grocery chain Aldi is taking America by storm — here's why people are obsessed
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At Aldi, you can't just grab a cart or a bag.
Aldi isn't the only chain that charges for shopping bags — Ikea and others do this as well. It's partially meant to encourage you to do the environmentally friendly thing and bring bags from home — but cuts down on overhead, as well.
If you want to use a cart, you'll have to plug a quarter into the cart stand outside. When you return the cart to the corral after you're done shopping, you'll get that quarter returned — so it's more of a deposit than a rental fee. This simple device ensures that no hapless employee has to chase windblown carts all over the parking lot — in theory, at least.
Aldi is a cousin of Trader Joe's.
Albrecht Discount — or Aldi for short — started in the small town of Essen, Germany in 1913, by a woman named Anna Albrecht. Sons Karl and Theo eventually took over the business. The two brothers split it into Aldi Nord and Aldi Sud (north and south) in 1961, reportedly after a feud over whether to carry cigarettes, according to the New Daily.
Each Aldi branch controls half of their home market in Germany — and there's only one type of Aldi in most countries in the world where the chains exist, as well — except in the US.
In the US, the stores we know as Aldi are part of the Aldi Sud chain. Aldi Nord also has a presence here as well — under the name Trader Joe's. If you're familiar with both chains, the signs are all right in front of you: House brand everything, fewer choices within categories, a strong push for you to bring your own bags, and some pretty amazing prices — even organic and specialty items.
Aldi stocks some of the best Girl Scout cookie knockoffs you'll ever taste.
If you're fiending for a Tagalong — or Thin Mint, or Samoa — Aldi's Benton brand has some knockoff cookie options that will blow your mind.
Also, they're under $2 a package, so you can easily buy a few to tide you over until your favorite cookies are on sale next year.
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