Aldi Expands Adult Beverage Selection
With the warm weather of the spring and summer months approaching, Aldi is rolling out a new assortment of ready-to-drink (RTD) summer adult beverages that include fruit-infused seltzers, a new radler, and a new cider flavor.
The new selections hit store shelves on April 11 with products available in approximately 2,000 of Aldi’s 2,400 stores. Featured items in the new selection include:
- Fieldcraft White Peach Strawberry: a new seltzer line that is infused with real fruit
- Wernesgrunner Lemon Radler: the first of its kind for Aldi, the Radler offers a citrusy flavor profile and is 2% alcohol by volume
- Wicked Grove Blueberry Cider: offering a juicy burst of ripe blueberries and a smooth finish that lingers
- Zarita Pink Lemonade: offering bright citrus notes and a refreshing finish, the lemonade is designed for sipping chilled or mixing into cocktails
- Specially Selected Napa Valley Sauvignon Blanc: a dry, fruity white wine from the premium wine region of California
“Summer is one of our largest seasons, and we have more than 20 (ready-to-drink) items that we’ve launched,” said Arlin Zajmi, director of National Buying for Adult Beverages with Aldi. “The goal for us was to offer consumers an assortment of products they’re looking for.”
The RTD segment of the adult beverage category has been a growth area for Aldi over the past five years as the grocer has tripled its assortment in the space. In 2024, existing SKUs alone were up 40% in sales, Zajmi said.
“The category is working for us and helping us bring in new consumers,” he added. “We have also been able to give consumers more options and trade them up into other (Aldi) brands we have in the space.”
During 2024, new products launched by Aldi included California Heritage, a selection of wine priced at $5 per bottle, and Specially Selected, which is positioned as the grocer’s premium wine assortment with prices ranging from $7 to $15 per bottle. Zajmi noted California Heritage has grown rapidly and is the No. 2 wine brand in the U.S.
While the new products give shoppers a greater variety of items in the RTD segment from which to choose, the growing assortment is also serving to attract younger consumers to Aldi, most notably Gen Z, as they reach legal drinking age.
“Getting people into wine has always been a challenge as it takes time to educate shoppers and they need to refine their palette,” Zajmi said. “For younger consumers, it’s easier to understand a flavor such as pink lemonade versus the differences between a chardonnay, Bordeaux, or burgundy. I absolutely think the newer beverages are opening doors to new consumers.”
As new shoppers visit Aldi, the need for the retailer to keep the assortment fresh and unique is of importance. This effort includes working directly with suppliers to zero in on popular flavors seen at retail and also stay on top of what is being consumed at restaurants and bars. This data, coupled with internal testing are key components of developing new flavors.
The new assortment, which offers products priced below similar items carried by other retailers, has also allowed Aldi to buck the trend of softening sales in the alcohol segment. Zajmi said the grocer has grown its business by building brands that offer products at a variety of pricepoints, continuing to drive innovation, and giving the category high-profile positioning in stores.
“Consumers are trusting our brands and our assortment,” he said. “It also comes down to value and the quality of our products at the prices we offer. We are over delivering on the value proposition more so than other brands and consumers are voting with their wallets and choosing Aldi.”
