Aldi USA Celebrates Its 50th Birthday

The Aldi Celebration Box, being sold starting April 15, 2026.

When Americans woke up on the morning of March 30, 1976, they no doubt had a few things on their mind. The night before, Indiana had defeated Michigan in an all-Big Ten NCAA Men’s Basketball Final, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest had won five Oscars, including Best Picture. That day, massive Palestinian protests in Israel-occupied territories would dominate the news.

Meanwhile, in Iowa City, Iowa, a little-known German grocery store opened up its doors in the United States for the first time. Aldi Süd, one of the two Aldi companies, had been slowly expanding out of Germany, having opened stores in nearby Austria in 1968. By the 1970s, though, the supermarket was eyeing the United States.

It was a promising time for a store like Aldi, although it might not have seemed like it. Unemployment and inflation in the U.S. had been high in the mid-1970s, a condition some economists called “stagflation.” Americans struggled under the weight of these forces, with no one quite sure what to do about it.

The Aldi Gear Tote, being sold starting April 15, 2026.

Aldi, though, was the perfect kind of bad economy store. After all, when the economy is doing poorly, cheap prices suddenly become a lot more important. Aldi landed in Iowa City promising to save customers 18% over its competitors.

Ironically enough, that first Aldi store closed after a year, in part because the building was too big. The grocer didn’t give up, though, retooling its approach, opening new stores, and eventually establishing a hub of operations in suburban Chicago.

Aldi Miniature Store — The Aldi 50th Birthday Store, being sold starting April 15, 2026.

Fifty years later, Aldi boasts well over 2,500 stores across dozens of states, including California, Nevada, and Maine. The grocer is an unquestioned major player in the industry, going toe-to-toe with giants like Walmart and Kroger.

On April 15, 2026, Aldi will be formally celebrating its 50th Anniversary with a range of Aldi Find merchandise, including tote bags, miniature stores, clothing, and, of course, quarter keychain holders.