Aldi is accelerating its US expansion, betting on consumer frustration with rising food bills. The German grocer is opening a store every few days under a $9 billion plan, with its latest location opening on Manhattan’s 42nd Street. Fifty years into its US presence, the discounter is targeting 3,200 stores by 2028 and believes the country has room for more than 4,000. “We don’t know where the ceiling is. We’re taking share from anyone who sells groceries,” Scott Patton, Aldi’s US chief commercial officer, said. Its US store count is expected to overtake Kroger, the largest US supermarket chain, within months.
Morgan Stanley data shows Aldi taking share at a pace comparable to Walmart, Sam’s Club and Costco, and found that each Aldi opening cuts competitors’ annual sales within a 10-mile radius by an average of one percentage point. Kearney puts Aldi at roughly 4% of US grocery spending, against 10.8% in the UK, while Morgan Stanley estimates US revenue reached $30 billion last year with double-digit growth. The model rests on compact stores, limited ranges and heavy private-label reliance, which accounts for nearly 90% of its lines: about 2,000 SKUs per store versus roughly 120,000 in a Walmart supercenter. Dan Gavin, vice president of national real estate, says the chain is ready to open directly opposite rivals. Fifty stores are planned in Colorado, with expansion in Arizona and Florida. Patton is blunt about the limits: “We’re not trying to be a one-stop shop.”
Why it matters for the pet industry
A 2,000-SKU store carries perhaps a dozen pet lines, and nine in ten of them are own-brand. Every door Aldi opens therefore converts mainstream branded dry dog food, cat litter and biscuit volume into private-label tonnage. If US share migrates toward the 10.8% Aldi holds in Britain, that is a structural relocation of grocery pet volume, not a cyclical trade-down.
For co-manufacturers the arithmetic inverts. Few SKUs at very high volume, judged purely on landed cost, is the ideal profile for extrusion capacity that struggles with short branded runs. Pet specialty is comparatively insulated, since Aldi is not competing for therapeutic diets or fresh.
What to watch
- Aldi’s US store count passing Kroger’s, the milestone confirming scale in grocery pet distribution.
- Whether Aldi’s US pet assortment widens beyond core dry food as store formats grow.
- Private-label share of US grocery pet food sales measured against the 4% to 10.8% gap.
FAQ
How much private label pet food does Aldi stock?
Aldi’s model rests on heavy private-label reliance, with nearly 90% of its lines own-brand and about 2,000 SKUs per store versus roughly 120,000 in a Walmart supercenter. A 2,000-SKU store carries perhaps a dozen pet lines, and nine in ten are own-brand, converting mainstream branded pet volume into private-label tonnage.
Why does Aldi threaten branded pet food?
Every Aldi door converts mainstream branded dry dog food, cat litter and biscuit volume into private-label tonnage, and if US share migrates toward the 10.8% Aldi holds in Britain, that is a structural relocation of grocery pet volume. For co-manufacturers, few SKUs at very high volume invert the usual arithmetic.
Will Aldi overtake Kroger’s US store count?
Aldi’s US store count is expected to overtake Kroger, the largest US supermarket chain, within months, with 3,200 stores targeted by 2028 and room for more than 4,000. Morgan Stanley found each Aldi opening cuts nearby competitors’ annual sales by about one percentage point within a 10-mile radius.
Source intelligence adapted for the GlobalPetIndex pet-industry audience. Original publication: external brief.
