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Netherlands: Aldi is now the fastest growing supermarket in the Netherlands

Discount Retail Chain Aldi Netherlands is now suddenly the fastest growing supermarket in the Netherlands. Renovated stores, a wider range of products and a smart response to low consumer confidence are at the basis. But whether this is the beginning of a real comeback, experts do not yet dare to say.


The champagne – from Aldi's private label brand Veuve Durand, of course – will have opened at Aldi. Aldi is suddenly the fastest growing supermarket in the Netherlands, according to a recent report by market research agency Hiiper. The market share increased by 14 percent in 2025. This increase represents a jump in turnover of 300 to 350 million euros.


Data from NielsenIQ point in the same direction. According to the market researcher, Aldi's market share grew from 5.3 percent in 2024 to 5.9 percent in 2025, a relative growth of more than 11 percent. At the number two, market leader Albert Heijn, the relative growth was a lot less. Although that also has to do with a larger market share.


Lost lead

The figures are striking, because Aldi lost market share for years. In the 90s, the supermarket was a phenomenon in the Netherlands, says food expert Peter Garstenveld, former editor-in-chief of trade magazine Distrifood. 'Aldi was the undisputed discount market leader. The golden combination of 'Aldi-Heijn' was very big at the time: the idea that you went to Aldi for the basic groceries and to Albert Heijn for the extra frills.'


But after the turn of the millennium, Aldi began to slacken. Whereas in 2005 the supermarket still held almost 10 percent of the Dutch market (9.5 percent according to ACNielsen), the market share halved in the twenty years that followed. Over the past five years, it has fluctuated between 5 and 5.5 percent.


'Aldi lost its leading position because it more or less stood still,' says Garstenveld. 'Because why would you change a winning formula? The corporate culture was very conservative.'


According to retail advisor Erik Hemmes of Retail Advies, this is especially true for Aldi Nord, which includes the Benelux. Aldi – which stands for Albrecht Diskont – was split in 1961 by the founders, the brothers Karl and Theo Albrecht. Aldi Süd is more progressive than its northern counterpart, says Hemmes. 'Many of the things that Aldi Nord is now introducing, Süd has already done years ago.'


Garstenveld: 'In the meantime, Aldi Nord has also woken up and the company is catching up on some of that backlog.'


No more cold box warehouses

To begin with, the stores have been addressed. Under the name Aniko (Aldi Nord Instore Konzept), the stores have been modernized since 2016. This also includes innovations that, according to experts, are already the standard at other supermarkets. Garstenveld: 'Think of LED lighting instead of fluorescent tubes and the fruit and vegetable department at the entrance.'


According to Hemmes, this is happening at an 'unprecedented pace'. Last year, 21 of the 481 stores in the Netherlands were renewed, and dozens more are scheduled for 2026. Stores that were not doing well have closed – although thirty new and relocations were done in 2025.


In addition to more emphasis on fresh – fresh produce, fresh meat and fish, dairy and cheese – the new and renovated stores are equipped with wider aisles, lower racks for a better overview and more natural light.


From a chilly box warehouse, Aldi had to become a fresh discount supermarket. We also know this strategy from that other German budget player: Lidl, which opened its first Dutch store in 1997. In recent years, the major competitor has cleverly repositioned itself from a price fighter to an affordable fresh food specialist, with a strong focus on vegetables, fruit and bread.


With result: Lidl is now the third largest supermarket in the Netherlands with a market share of 11.6 percent (in 2024, since then the company no longer shares figures). With 440 stores, about 40 less than Aldi.


Customers come more often and buy more

This is possible because the store turnover at Lidl is much higher on average, explains Hiiper director Joep Smeets. "The range is larger: an average Lidl has a range at least twice as wide as Aldi." That works, Garstenveld adds. 'Discounters were traditionally intended to fill the pantry. With the focus on fresh, Lidl has increased the frequency of visitors enormously. Customers come there more often, and buy more.'


Aldi also wants to become an one-stop supermarket where consumers can find everything they need. The company says that it has invested 'heavily' in the past two years in renewing and expanding its range, including private labels. More than 80 percent of the range was overhauled, and the basic range has also been expanded from about 800 products to more than 2,000.


It is bearing fruit, Smeets sees. 'Aldi is not only growing because the supermarket attracts new customers, but lately people have also been spending more. In the third quarter of 2025, 9 percent more went into shopping baskets and in the fourth quarter 6 percent.'

'Fans of advantage'


Yet you can still consider all this as a minimum lower limit to what modern discounters have to meet today. Aldi has put the basics in order, but also has the circumstances in place.

According to Hiiper director Smeets, the growth spurt is mainly related to the 'persistently low consumer confidence'. 'Especially with groceries, the perception is that they have become very expensive. Consumers make price-conscious choices and then Aldi is one of the cheapest options.'


That awareness is growing now that the discounter has started to make more noise about it. Aldi was always a closed stronghold. It is only in the past five years that the company has started to focus more on marketing and communication, and since 2024 – the year that Pieter Rozendaal, the new CEO of Aldi Netherlands, took office – the focus has been entirely on improving the price image. Garstenveld: 'For example, with the 'Fans of benefit' campaign that started last year.'


Aldi even claimed to be the cheapest last year, because that was shown in price surveys by Kassa and the Consumers' Association in early 2025.


Easy-to-understand story

Only that was not the intention to advertise with it for a whole year. Aldi did, which earned the discounter a reprimand from the Consumers' Association. Aldi scrapped the claims, humbly promised improvement and donated 250,000 euros to the food banks to make up for it.


But whether it is justified or not, consistent communication about the low prices does work, Smeets sees. 'Aldi has the image. The supermarket is benefiting enormously from consumer sentiment at the moment.'


Aldi's brand new marketing and communication department wanted to say far too much at the start, Garstenveld sees. It was about assortment, about price, about sustainability – far too much for a chain where you can get your basic groceries cheaply. 'This story is easy to understand for consumers. You go to Aldi for the good price-quality ratio, period. And the range is also becoming broader and more modern. With products such as meal kits and fresh pizzas.'


In that respect, Lidl has made it more difficult for itself, according to the food expert. 'Lidl is also sustainable and gives discounts – quite unique for a discounter – but then you have to have the Lidl app. Many customers think that's far too much hassle and not very transparant.'


Not an immediate success

The fact that Aldi was the biggest grower in the supermarket world last year is of course nice for the company. 'But that doesn't make it a success story,' says Hemmes. 'The real proof will only be provided in a year's time, when it becomes clear whether Aldi can maintain these growth figures.' Whether that will succeed, according to the experts, is 'coffee grounds'.




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