DENVER — German discount grocer ALDI announced plans to enter Colorado with more than 50 stores in the Denver and Colorado Springs markets, a move that retail experts say could shake up a market long dominated by Kroger’s King Soopers.
“ALDI is known as a disruptor in the grocery store space because they have low profit margins. They have smaller stores and lower selection,” Jack Buffington, program director of supply chain management at the University of Denver. “In a time where there’s issues with food costs, ALDI will definitely have an impact on the Denver and Colorado market.”
Buffington said ALDI’s smaller footprint of about a fifth the size of a traditional grocery store, and their emphasis on private-label items, allows the chain to offer lower prices which could pressure larger supermarkets to respond. He added ALDI often opens in dense, urban areas and underused retail spaces, which could help address local food access gaps.
The Denver Department of Public Health and Environment is hopeful that a new grocery chain entering the market will remove some of the food deserts in town, saying in a statement:
“Access to nutritious, affordable, and culturally relevant food is essential to the health and wellbeing of our city. Yet today, more than one in six Denverites (15%) experience food insecurity, and many children and families struggle to find healthy options close to home. DPHE is committed to reducing food deserts and food insecurity through public health approaches, community engagement, and policy initiatives.
Grocery stores are one of the most common recommendations we hear from the community for tackling food access, and the need is especially great in Southwest Denver as well as the Montbello and Globeville-Elyria-Swansea (GES) neighborhoods… Any new point of food access in our neighborhoods would be a critical step toward increasing access to healthy options and building a more resilient food system for Denver residents.”
"You're going to see that ALDI is going to disrupt," Buffington said. "They come in and they try to change not just the dynamics of how retail works, but how the whole food supply chain works wherever they come in. It's going to be really interesting to see how it plays out."
ALDI coming to Colorado is part of a larger expansion nationwide. The grocer announced it's adding 180 new stores across 31 states by the end of 2026. The 50 Colorado locations will be appearing over the next five years, with an Aurora distribution center planned for 2029.
