About my 5 minutes of fame: The ALDI Quarter Club
My friends know that there are some quirky things about me:
I summited Kilimanjaro at 16 years old
I am on the crossword testing team for the New York Times
I competed in mime in high school (my partner and I won 4th place in state)
And, as of Thursday, November 13th, we have another one: I am now an inaugural member of the ALDI Quarter Club.
You may be asking: what is the Quarter Club? How did you win? What did you do? How did a dietitian/diabetes educator end up here?
The ALDI Quarter Club is a group of 25 super fans of the international grocery store chain, ALDI. We were all flown to Chicago and toured around their headquarters and Insight Center. We were provided with customized lettermans jackets and a year’s worth of ALDI groceries. And we learned so much about what it takes to bring quality food to store shelves across the country.
The group was full of incredible people with their own unique connection to ALDI. Some had thrown amazing ALDI-themed parties, traveled around the world to various ALDI stores, or shared their love of ALDI with the world through social media pages.
I was the dietitian in the group, and I earned my ALDI spot through talking about my love of recommending ALDI to my clients (and the time I dressed up as ALDI for a work Halloween costume contest).
Those who have worked with me as dietitian know that I shy away from recommending certain food brands or items. I have to really believe in something to put my name on it. And, in front of millions of people, I put my name behind ALDI. Why? It’s more than just the good prices (although that’s what often gets people in the door).
It’s because of the ALDI experience: a focus on quality without excessive options. Because who needs to sift through six different cottage cheeses and try to parse out which one is best? Ten nearly identical types of granola bars? Eight different kinds of whole grain bread? Who wants to spend twice as long wandering down extra long aisles just searching for that one item? Not me. I don’t need that drama, stress, or decision fatigue.
At the ALDI Quarter Club banquet, I was asked by the Marketing Director, Katherine, what my favorite ALDI food to recommend to my clients was. The competitively priced produce is my go-to recommendation - but I also had to tell her about all of the times clients have come to me upset after a traditional grocery shopping experience. Clients who have found themselves crying in front of the yogurt aisle because there were just too many options and they were exhausted trying to find one that would work for them. I say, “go to ALDI. You’ll have a couple of options, and they’ll be good, and you can go home and enjoy your yogurt in peace”.
So yes, I am a proud ALDI super fan, and now I am a proud member of the Quarter Club alongside 24 other wonderful people. In the words of fellow ALDI Quarter Club member Mary, “the best ALDI finds are ALDI friends”.
