Why You Should Look Twice At An Aldi Item With A 'D' On The Price Tag

Aldi's shelves are packed full of delicious and unique offerings. In some ways, each visit can feel like exploring, with even regular shoppers sometimes discovering new favorites. But items can also disappear from shelves, never to be seen again except in the dreams of wistful shoppers. Aldi pros know to look for one tried-and-true sign that a certain item might be on its way out, and that's the letter "D" on the item's tag.

The telltale letter stands for "discontinued," the unfortunate fate of the labeled item, and can appear in handwritten form or printed in the number shown under the price. It occurs for any number of reasons, ranging from poor sales to a lack of supply to a planned inventory shift for seasonal or holiday reasons. 

Although there's little a shopper can do once the dreaded "D" has struck a personal favorite, one option remains, thanks to this knowledge: stocking up. (This is particularly popular when it's one of the items selected as Aldi products you need to try before you die.)

Unfortunately, the list of discontinued items missed by regular Aldi shoppers is seemingly a long one. Reddit users fondly reminisce about options like Balance Cereal, vegetarian meatballs, brioche French toast bagels, and chocolate almond milk. Pueblo Lindo taquito chips (similar to the better-known Takis) were also discontinued, to the distress of some shoppers. It's unclear what the prerequisites are for Aldi to bring back an item once it left shelves with a "D" distinction, and sometimes removal may simply be to liquidate current seasonal stock. The chain has been upfront with social media users who've reached out to inquire, confirming when certain items are gone without plans to bring them back. 

Frequent shoppers may intuitively notice that Aldi also uses tags to signify a variety of other things. Tags that are yellow with a blue sticker denote new products, while yellow with red text indicates a sale. Meanwhile, white with red text is a potentially valuable color combination for Aldi shoppers, too; it represents exclusive "Aldi Finds," products often prized by regulars. Tags in a similar color combination designate "Aldi Savers," temporary price drops.

Subtle signs like the Aldi "D" are common among retailers looking to indicate when products are on their way out, and observant shoppers take notice. For example, an asterisk on a Costco label (the so-called "Costco death star") also marks that the chain is getting rid of an item. Signs that something is being discontinued at other chains include when a product number ends with 1 at Sam's Club, an oversized tag at Kroger, or anything explicitly labeled "clearance" or "last chance" elsewhere. While individual retailers may have varying policies on whether discontinued products ever make a comeback, it's still a good sign to grab extras, just in case.

It's easy to get distracted while grocery shopping these days, particularly when you're browsing shelves full of tempting Aldi items. However, observant folks who notice the "D" on product labels will be a step ahead of their fellow shoppers by being able to stock up and prepare if it strikes one of their favorites.