ALDI pledges to ditch junk food at its US store checkouts by the year-end

ALDI – which has already embarked on a similar initiative in the UK – said it wanted to "remove temptation at the checkout",​ prompting praise from the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), which said research​​ showed that putting junk food at kids’ eye level “can induce requests for those products and family conflict”.​

"By introducing Healthier Checklanes and through a number of other initiatives, we are doing our part to remove temptation at checkout and stocking stores with even more nutritious options,"​ said ALDI USA CEO Jason Hart.

"At ALDI, we truly care about our customers, and we're responding with guilt-free checkout zones and increased food options they can feel good about."​

Low prices, limited assortment, high-quality​

The company - which is headquartered in Batavia, Illinois, is also expanding its selection of fresh and organic meat and produce, and adding to its SimplyNature line of products, said Hart.

All ALDI branded products are also free of certified synthetic colors, partially hydrogenated oils (PHOs) and added MSG, said the company, which said it was also committed to "ensuring that the milk used to make all ALDI cultured products, such as yogurts, sour cream, and cottage cheese, has no artificial growth hormones".​

ALDI, which is on a mission to boost its US store count to almost 2,000 by the end of 2018, sells a high-quality, but limited assortment (around 1,400 SKUs vs the typical 30,000+ in a regular supermarket), of primarily private label products (90%) at low prices from stores typically in the 18 -20,000 sq ft range.

Privately held by brothers Theo and Karl Albrecht, Aldi Group is Germany's leading grocery store chain and a leading player in the global retail food industry. It also owns Trader Joe’s in the US.

Read more about ALDI Here: Is ALDI the most underestimated retailer in the US?​​

Read the CSPI's report, Temptation at the Checkout​.​