Aldi is selling groceries online for the first time in the UK in a bid to help vulnerable people and those self-isolating during the Covid-19 lockdown.
The food parcels, priced at £24.99 including delivery, will be for home delivery and contain 22 products including tinned soup, rice and pasta. Each parcel will also include antibacterial handwash and a four-pack of toilet roll. Parcels will be limited to one per customer.
Aldi has previously only sold wine and its ‘Specialbuys’ range of non-food items online.
“We are committed to providing quick, safe and affordable access to food for all our customers and understand that, for some, visiting one of our stores is not an option at the momentm” says Aldi’s managing director for corporate responsibility, Fritz Walleczek.
“We’re constantly looking for new and better ways to support our customers in these uncertain times and I’m hopeful that these food parcels will make life a little easier for some of the country’s most at-risk people.”
The move follows a number of initiatives from the supermarket aimed at helping the elderly and vulnerable, including a £250,000 donation to Age UK in March and the introduction of reserved opening times for vulnerable shoppers.
Other items in Aldi’s food parcel include chocolate, biscuits, UHT green semi skimmed milk, rice pudding, salted peanuts, instant coffee, baked beans, tuna chunks and plum tomatoes.
Aldi is the latest supermarket to offer food parcels to help at-risk customers during the coronavirus pandemic.
Morrisons and Marks & Spencer have launched similar initiatives, with Morrisons’s food boxes ranging from £30 for pre-made meals to £45 for a family meat box, while M&S’s boxes start from £15 for a selection of mixed vegetables and tier up to £35 for a selection of ‘essential’ items.
Supermarkets are trying to ramp up online grocery services amid a surge in demand due to the coronavirus pandemic. Before the crisis, just 8% of grocery shopping was done online and even with supermarkets increasing available slots that figure is only likely to reach around 15%.
SOURCE: ELLEN HAMMETT
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