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TIME100 Most Influential Companies 2025: Aldi
As grocery prices rose in 2024, the German-owned discount grocer won over more American shoppers. Aldi's relatively small stores offer fewer product options than competitors, but also lower prices, as 90% of Aldi's products are private label. (In January, it issued its first-ever Price Leadership Report, which calculated an average cost savings of 36% over other grocery chains.) 'Value is as top of mind as it's ever been for consumers,' says Jason Hart, CEO of Aldi USA. Aldi's 'simple and efficient approach to grocery retail…saves customers money and time.' The fastest-growing grocer in the U.S. (and third largest by number of locations) opened 120 stores in 2024 and plans to open a company-record 225 more this year—part of a five-year plan to add 800 stores. Aldi, which has never offered single-use plastic bags, uses natural refrigerants in 700 stores—'more than every other retailer in the country,' Hart says—and plans to end use of any polluting refrigerants by 2035, one of the first U.S. food retailers to make this commitment.
