Why Reddit Is Accusing Aldi Of 'Shrinking' Food Sizes

While Aldi may have started from humble beginnings, as a family-run discount grocery store in Essen, Germany, it has since grown to become one of the most popular grocery chains in the United States, with close to 1,600 locations around the country and more on the way, per CNBC. While it delivers something of a no-frills shopping experience, its prices, which are about 15 percent cheaper than comparable stores, as well as its speedy efficiency, have made it a fierce competitor to more established stores like Whole Foods, Costco, and even Walmart, according to CNN.

However, while Aldi shoppers might be used to doing a little extra work to take advantage of its low prices, like bagging their own groceries or returning their own carts, there is one important thing they do expect from their shopping experience: a great value. Therefore, when one shopper recently purchased a bag of the chain's frozen broccoli florets, only to find that bag looked much smaller than the exact same bag of broccoli they had bought at the same store just one month ago, they had questions.

Buying broccoli frozen instead of fresh is smart. However, there appear to be problems with Aldi's offerings. Reddit user u/AlwaysDoTheLine posted a picture comparing the two items to the social media site, noting the size discrepancy and saying they were "both 10 oz." While both items were exactly the same Simply Nature Field to Frozen organic broccoli florets, the bag that had been purchased recently looks significantly smaller than the bag that had been purchased a month ago. Some Aldi shoppers were quick to blame inflation, which has been on the rise since August 2021, for the change in size (via CNN).

However, other Aldi shoppers came to the company's defense, saying a change in packaging does not necessarily mean a change in the size of the product. "I know they've talked about reducing plastic, so it might be that they're reducing excess packaging, thus making it look smaller," one user suggested. Another user guessed that "it could also just be down to a change in supplier" or that it "could have to do with how they're packed and shipped." 

However, a few sharp-eyed users pointed out that the older broccoli came in a bigger, steamable bag, while the newer broccoli packaging was not steamable. Many people agreed that this seems to be the most reasonable explanation for why the packaging size differed, although the amount of actual product inside did not. So although inflation is certainly a real problem, Aldi's broccoli florets appear to be safe for now.