There's A Reason Aldi's Milk Is Always So Cheap

If you want to save money, you go to Aldi. That's pretty cut and dry. They offer good value and a lot of shoppers have come to realize that. What's not as clear to many of us is how Aldi can offer such great prices on something like milk all the time. Many shoppers have a skeptical "if it sounds too good to be true, it must be," approach to low prices. If it's the same quality milk that you can get everywhere else, why does it cost less? It turns out there are a couple of answers to that question.

To start with, the reason Aldi offers low prices on everything and not just milk is directly related to how they do business. You'll notice that Aldi stores tend to have shorter operating hours and smaller buildings. The aisles tend to be narrow with lots of boxes piled up. You'll rarely find name brand products at Aldi, and there aren't employees stocking the shelves all the time — they don't even play music in stores. All of this is intentional to cut down on overhead and operating costs, inheriting savings that it then passes on to its customers.

When it comes to milk, Aldi stocks its private label Friendly Farms, which is cheaper than name brands and even other store brands. The milk comes in racks so employees don't need to take time and waste money stocking them, further reducing costs.

If your fear is that Aldi sells lower quality milk, don't worry. It's the same milk you'll find at other stores — literally. In 2011, a shopper with the same concern traced the production stamps on milk they bought from Aldi and another store. All milk has a stamp on the bottom that identifies the facility where it was produced, and a little research showed that both the Friendly Farms milk and the milk they got from another store were produced in Kemps facilities. Kemps is a massive dairy operation that's over 100 years old. So Aldi is selling the same milk you'd get anywhere, just under its private label at a reduced cost. 

Aldi likely sells its milk as a loss leader – meaning they lower the price enough that they don't make any profit, knowing that customers will always need it. Customers always have to come back to the store to buy it. Even if Aldi loses money on that, it makes up the difference with the other items you purchase. With so many store brand products instead of name brand, they cut out the middleman and the associated markups. That means they can offer lower prices and still make a profit to stay in business. Many customers have come to love Aldi's store brand items, so a lack of quality isn't part of the Aldi experience. 

Part of the difference in the money you spend on name brand vs generic milk comes down to marketing. That extends to the Family Farms milk sold at Aldi as well. So, next time you need milk, head to Aldi if you want to save some cash without sacrificing standards.