THE FRIDAY 5: ALDI Expands Into Former Big Lots Locations; Lidl, Albertsons Go Private With Meat
Welcome to The Friday 5, Progressive Grocer’s weekly roundup of the top news and trends in the food retail industry. Each Friday, we’ll take a look at the stories that are most important to our readers and also keep tabs on the trends that are poised to impact grocers.
1. ALDI Acquires Former Big Lots Stores
Former Big Lots! store real estate is a hot commodity these days, and news came in this week via a USA Today report that ALDI has acquired at least three storefronts once occupied by Big Lots! Those sites are located in Denham Springs, La., Taylor, Mich., and Nacogdoches, Texas.
The additions come as ALDI continues an ambitious expansion plan, including a bigger footprint in the western United States. The discount grocer unveiled its first two outposts in Las Vegas last month, and this week is kicking off operations in Boynton Beach, Fla., and Thomaston, Ga., as well as a third new store in Vegas.
ALDI joins other retailers that have taken over former Big Lots! brick-and-mortar buildings, including Ollie's Bargain Outlet.
For its part, Big Lots!, now under the ownership of Variety Wholesalers, has reopened nearly 150 of its own stores this month.
2. PG Unveils 2025 Editors’ Picks Products
There was no shortage of inspiration among this year’s Editor’s Picks contenders, and PG editors were wowed by the depth and breadth of trends seen across the nominations. Among the functional products that caught our attention were sweet potato fries featuring superfoods, caffeine-infused dark chocolate, probiotic soda, overnight protein oats, herbal tea with biotin, a high-fiber fruit bar, raw snacking granola, and so much more.
These products didn’t stop at functionality, though; many featured such indulgent flavors as Mango Cardamom, Vanilla Almond, Tart Cherry and Cherry Berry Chocolate Chunk, and others still leaned heavily on the hot honey and everything seasoning trend.
3. Albertsons, Loblaw Talk Marketing at Retail Media Summit
Last week’s Path to Purchase Institute Retail Media Summit in Rosemont, Ill., brought together the brightest minds in retail marketing, and PG editors Emily Crowe (hi!) and Lynn Petrak were on hand to take it all in.
In a keynote conversation, Albertsons Cos. CMO Sean Barrett discussed how the retailer is responding to changing shopper behavior and utilizing digital commerce, convenience, retail media and more to make its own personalized connections with consumers. For Albertsons, retail media has played a major role in alleviating several shopper pain points, including attempting to stretch their dollars further than ever while leading busy lives.
According to Barrett, the grocer wants value-seeking, time-strapped consumers to be able to shop its stores and feel like they’ve made a good decision in doing so.
“Retail media, and commerce marketing in general, plays a really important role there to interrupt and lead that shopper with great value, great offerings, a great message that makes them feel like a smart shopper buying your brand on that shopping trip, as well as delivering them a personalized offer, for instance, so they can get great value on your product in the place that they prefer to shop, the place that they primarily shop,” he shared.
In another session during the summit, Rohit Dua, VP of loyalty portfolio management at Canadian retail conglomerate Loblaw, shared how the company is making strides in digital media via in-store print receipts with the help of Ecrebo.
“The receipt is essentially a mini billboard in the palm of your customer's hand,” Dua explained. “It's not just utilized to look at the totals and the itemized products that you bought on the day. It's actually a vehicle to communicate with your customers.”
Read more about Loblaw’s journey.
4. Are Grocery Prices Finally Coming Down?
A lot of eyes were on this week’s inflation report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, following a topsy-turvy month punctuated by tariff and trade controversies. On the bright side, the latest report showed that the pace of inflation was slower than analysts had projected, with the grocery sector seeing real declines.
The overall Consumer Price Index rose 0.2% in April, after dipping 0.1% in March. On a year-over-year basis, the CPI for all items is up 2.3%, the lowest yearly rate since February 2021. Additionally, grocery prices fell 0.4% last month.
In response to the numbers, FMI - the Food Industry Association’s Andy Harig, VP of tax, trade, sustainability and policy development, said: “Today’s CPI numbers should be welcome news for grocery shoppers, as food-at-home inflation significantly cooled for the month."
Harig sounded a note of caution about the current and upcoming operating environment, though, as volatility remains. “However, given the fluid situation around tariffs, it remains to be seen whether and how much these levies will impact food prices going forward. We remain optimistic that they will have a limited impact on food prices in the near term and a more stable food price environment will take hold as we head into the summer,” he remarked.
5. Lidl, Albertsons Go Private With Meat
Private label news was big with PG readers this week, starting with Lidl’s first-ever private label meat line – Butcher’s Specialty. According to the discount grocer, the line is a curated selection of the freshest meats and the best cuts, with “no shortcuts, no additives and no compromise.”
Butcher’s Specialty offerings include USDA Choice beef, organic beef, grass-fed beef, antibiotic-free chicken, and all-natural pork, lamb and veal.
Albertsons, meanwhile, has launched its latest own brand, Chef’s Counter, with a selection of ready-to-cook marinated meats. According to the company, the pre-seasoned and marinated meats make it easy for customers to create chef-inspired meals for maximum taste with minimum effort, ready in about 20 minutes.
In 2026, Albertsons will expand the Chef’s Counter line with premium selections in the deli and frozen sections, along with globally inspired products in the center store.
