Discount grocer Aldi is about halfway through a project to remodel 83 stores in Florida by 2020 at a cost of $115 million.
More than 40 Aldi stores across the state will have been remodeled by the end of October, two years after the project began.
Remodeled stores in the Tampa area, for example, have brighter lighting and large signs showing the locations of such items as baked goods and dairy products.
Aldi’s remodeling work will make room for such popular products as kale-and-quinoa-crunch burgers, gluten-free bagels, kombucha and veggie noodles.
As Aldi refreshes its stores, the grocer also is striving to allocate 20 percent of its shelf space to organic and fresh products.
In recent months, Aldi’s stores have been stocking more of its private-label Earth Organic items, including meatless burgers, dairy-free ice cream and vegan cheese.
Aldi, which has more than 1,800 stores in 35 states, expects to have remodeled more than 1,300 of them by the end of 2020. [Tampa Bay Times] – Mike Seemuth