ALDI offers a money-back guarantee on fresh vegetables and fruits

ALDI is developing its fresh product range with several measures. In each store of the supermarket chain, a freshness officer ensures that the vegetable and fruit range is available in excellent quality and in an orderly manner throughout the day: the designated colleague walks through the store several times a day, checks the shelves, sorts the products, and if necessary, removes unsuitable pieces, so that customers can always take home fresh, high-quality ingredients.

Another guarantee of reliable quality is that ALDI purchases fresh vegetables and fruit from GlobalG.A.P.-certified producers. This internationally recognized agricultural certification indicates that the product has been grown in a safe, environmentally and occupational health and safety manner. The GlobalG.A.P. framework regulates the use of pesticides and the prevention of contamination, and traceability is ensured. It is possible to trace where the goods come from and how they reach the store, and strict regulations apply to harvesting, storage and packaging, as well as the protection of soil and water, the responsible use of resources, and basic requirements for the safety and fair treatment of workers. ALDI also sets stricter requirements than the legal requirements for pesticide residues or microbiological limits. The company conducts 150 laboratory tests per year – for vegetables and fruits alone – and also regularly checks the quality of the products with additional sensory tests to ensure that customers receive high-quality products in terms of smell, taste, texture, content and appearance. The supermarket chain has now installed fruit and vegetable coolers in 21 stores nationwide to ensure that the products offered here stay fresh even longer and that customers can always find products of predictable high quality in these coolers.

ALDI also guarantees quality with a money-back guarantee: the company offers a satisfaction guarantee for vegetables and fruits. If the customer is not satisfied with the quality of any vegetable or fruit purchased from them, they can return the product to any ALDI store in the country, and the company will refund the purchase price of the defective products. The returned goods are sorted by the store’s freshness staff. Vegetables and fruits suitable for human consumption are distributed to those in need with the help of the Hungarian Food Bank Association, while ALDI offers the remaining products free of charge to zoos and farmers, thus reducing the amount of food waste generated.

ALDI also involves customers in the development of the fresh category: by completing the “Have your say!” online questionnaire, the supermarket chain provides the opportunity for consumers to vote on which vegetable or fruit should be the next month’s featured, special product, i.e. the “Fresh Champion of the Month”. The product voted in this way is available at an extraordinary discount for a limited time the following month.

ALDI has eliminated single-use paper packaging for around 90% of its fruit and vegetable products and has switched to foldable, reusable plastic boxes. As a result, the amount of paper waste from single-use packaging has been reduced to a minimum.