Dive Brief:

• Aldi plans later this month to make a line of branded merchandise available in its stores across the United States for a limited time, reprising a similar initiative by the discount grocery chain in 2022, according to a Thursday press release.
• The products will include clothing, footwear, tumblers and umbrellas and carry prices ranging from $1.49 to $9.99.
• Aldi is among a growing number of retailers that have launched efforts to market apparel and other goods sporting their names to loyal shoppers as a way to build and take advantage of enthusiasm for their brands.

Dive Insight:

Aldi plans to place the colorful branded products it has selected for its “Aldi Gear” program in the “Aldi Finds” aisle, where it routinely presents a rotating selection of low-priced home goods and other goods to shoppers. The program starts March 22 and will last until supplies run out, according to the company.

The rollout underscores the connection between the Aldi Gear program and the grocer’s broader effort to encourage shoppers to visit often by offering a steady stream products that will not be replenished.

“We offer customers a deliberately different shopping experience, and with Aldi Finds, we transform a run-of-the-mill grocery trip into a treasure hunt,” an Aldi spokesperson said in an email.

Aldi said the Aldi Gear products it offered last year ran through half of its stock in one week, but the company did not indicate how long it took the goods to sell out. The spokesperson said the retailer decided to offer an expanded array of products through the program in 2023 “based on the success we saw last year.”

Other retailers in the grocery and convenience space have also recently looked to products that allow shoppers to show off their brands. Last November, H-E-B started selling a line of branded items including stickers, beer coozies, water bottles, hats and holiday ornaments at a store in Kerrville, Texas, noting at the time that it intended to bring the products to H-E-B Brand Shops in other locations during 2023. In 2019, Publix launched an online store stocked with items like apparel, toys and home goods emblazoned with the supermarket chain’s name.

Last year, 7-Eleven began selling apparel and other items promoting its name and iconic brands like Slurpee to e-commerce customers. Other convenience store operators, including Circle K and Wawa, also offer branded merchandise.