What's the difference between Aldi's and Trader Joes? (Houston, Sugar Land: credit card, buy)

[Whyrallnamestaken]

I see they are building a Trader Joes at LaCenterra which is more convenient for me than Aldi's on Mason. What is the difference between these two stores? The thing I don't like about Aldi's is no credit cards, only cash or a debit card. Will TJ's be the same?

[mikeyyc]

Owned by the same company. Think of Trader Joes like a Whole Foods compared to Aldi's Kroger.

TJ uses predominantly in-house brands but is more up-market than Aldi which focuses on basics and lowest possible price.

[Houston321]

Is this a serious question?

[Tassy001]

Aldi's to me is the same as the dollar store. Lots of things I would not buy from the dollar store - produce and meat being one of them.

Trader Joe's is similar to Sprouts/ whole foods.

[swopoe]

Trader Joe's also takes credit cards. I still wish we had one in Sugar Land.

[texas7]

Aldiss shouldn't be compare to Kroger. I agree it's like the dollar general of grocery stores. Mostly generic, non branded items.

[Htown2013]

Originally Posted by swopoe

Trader Joe's also takes credit cards. I still wish we had one in Sugar Land.

Yes, I really don't get why there's neither a Sprouts or TJ planned for Sugar Land while Katy will have both.

[wheretogo]

Originally Posted by Tassy001

Aldi's to me is the same as the dollar store. Lots of things I would not buy from the dollar store - produce and meat being one of them.

Trader Joe's is similar to Sprouts/ whole foods.

+1 to that.

I visited Aldis only once and that was my first and last visit there.

[texas7]

I don't carr for generic stuff but for those who don't care, I've heard it can be a big savings.

[TexasDeere]

I love trader joes and Aldi's. First, they are owned separately by 2 German brothers. They are operated separately but do share logistics (trucking and warehouse distribution). Trader Joes is awesome for odd and unique items but for me, it's not a weekly shopping destination. Aldi's on the other hand offer basic items that are high frequency moving items at traditional grocers. They do not carry name brands and private label their stuff with a cheesy name. But the products are made by the major name brands. We like Aldi's for cereals, snack items (granola bars, breakfast bars, chips, nuts, etc.), dairy (cheap milk, butter, real cheese, and eggs), baking goods (sugar and flour are cheap), and some frozen goods. When you buy butter and sugar, are you that hung up on brand names? We're not and find it to be a bargain place. We avoid meats there but have generally had good luck with some vegetables. Plus canned items like cream of mushroom, rotel, tomato paste, etc. When we are at the traditional grocery store, we buy store brand of these same items. Who doesn't buy kroger brand or hill country fair or SAMs choice on occasion? Plus I find the generic quality to be better than generic at the major grocery locations. The big rub with a lot of folks is with the cash/debit policy. We shop here once a week and rarely spend more than $50 so that isn't enough to mess up my cash flow or ruin any credit card point collections. Then you have to use your own bags and use a quarter to unlock a shopping cart. I also love the fact that you can park near the front door, easy in and out, and efficient. Glad Aldi's is in Houston.