As Aldi looks to open its first stores in Colorado, there are a few things locals should know.

Before moving to Denver, I was a reporter in Florida covering retail and saw firsthand how the grocer can change the grocery industry landscape in a state.

In Florida, Publix dominates. But amid the pandemic, the German discount grocer quickly gained traction. It was opening new stores in almost every major shopping corridor.

It later acquired Winn-Dixie, one of Florida’s oldest grocery chains, converting its stores under its own banner, and later sold the stores it didn’t keep for itself back to a group of investors seeking to revive Winn-Dixie.

Aldi now has 285 stores in Florida, the most of any state in the U.S.

The grocer became the place to go for cheap cheese and wine for a classic charcuterie board night with friends — at least it had for me.

Aldi has become a power player in the U.S. grocery industry, especially along the East Coast. As inflation pushed grocery costs up during the pandemic, Aldi became increasingly popular and began to aggressively expand with new stores across the country.

It aims to open 180 stores in the U.S. this year, the grocer announced, with a goal of 3,200 stores by the end of 2028.

WANT TO USE A SHOPPING CART? BRING A QUARTER

Aldi has several unique shopping features at its stores, such as charging for shopping bags and encouraging people to bring their own.

Coloradans may already be used to bringing their own shopping bags due to state laws implemented in 2024 to cut down on single-use plastic bags at stores, but locals may not be used to having to pay to use a shopping cart.

Aldi requires shoppers to unlock its shopping carts with a coin, a more common practice in Europe. But don’t worry. The shopping cart returns your quarter once you put the cart back in place.

On some days, another shopper may be kind enough to hand you a cart on their way out. You could get a free quarter upon returning it or pass on the favor to the next shopper who forgot their coin.

The grocery store put the system in place to reduce the number of staff needed to collect its carts, Aldi said on its website.

SOME ITEMS MAY STILL BE IN BOXES

Another one of Aldi’s unconventional cost-cutting measures is not focusing on fancy product displays.

To save time and costs on unpacking, Aldi often leaves items in their original shipping boxes. Shopping at an Aldi can sometimes feel like going through a warehouse.

Shoppers don’t need to buy in bulk like in Costco, but they can pull out the items individually themselves.

DISCOUNT SHOPPING

Aldi is most famous for its deep discounts.

More than 90% of the store carries private label products, an effort to reduce hidden costs passed on to the consumer from brand labels.

A bottle of Winking Owl, Aldi’s exclusive wine brand, can cost as low as $4.

The grocer was named the 5th strongest customer value proposition in the U.S. for 2025, according to the Dunnhumby’s Retailer Preference Index, a national study on the grocery industry.

Other Colorado grocers include Costco (#4), Trader Joe’s (#7), Walmart (#11) and King Soopers’ parent company Kroger (#18). Albertsons, owner of Colorado’s Safeway stores, was not listed in the top 20.

The study found savings and quality are driving growth in the grocery industry, and “savings-first retailers” like Walmart and Aldi are making the competition for savings “more of a battleground.”

“They are closing the gap in product quality perception to most of the rest of the market, while continuing to widen their price perception advantage,” the Dunnhumby report said.

Aldi also commissioned its own study last year and found shoppers can save up to 63% on groceries by buying its private-label products.

The average family of four spends about $10,600 a year on brand name products, Aldi found. Shoppers who buy Aldi products spend about $6,800.