Don't know anything about house brands, but...
Lidl hasn't opened in Oz yet. However, during a recent trip to Germany I was able to check out several of their stores. The first impression, apart from the obscenely cheap grocery prices that Germans pay, is that alcohol reigns supreme. Two large alcohol aisles comprised the center section of all the Lidl stores I visited. All other groceries were randomly arranged around this core. Apart from the cooler and freezer sections, which ran around the outside and one only had to follow them along to find products, customers had to go on a veritable hunt to find what they are looking for. They didn't even place differently branded toothpastes or mouth washes next to each other, but in completely different aisles. There were no specific sections or signage to help shoppers find what they are looking for. Thus, shoppers are forced to walk around the store several times to fill their shopping list and to entice them to impulse buy.
I liked their bottle and can recycling machines. These are located at every supermarket. A liter of bottled water cost as little as 25 or 30 Eurocents. However, when a customer returns the empty bottle through one of those machines they collect 25 Eurocents for each and can redeem this credit in store.
I actually prefer Famila, Sky, Citti Markt and Edeka to Lidl and Aldi. Citti Markt is a place where one can get just about anything edible and drinkable from anywhere in the world and I am not kidding. Its like Beulah land for gourmets. Their cheese section...I've never even seen a cheese section like that. They had cheese from anywhere where cheese is made; including orange American cheddar (but not in a spray can - that would have been gauche).
And did I mention that food is really cheap, I mean really cheap. I picked up a loaf of fresh sour dough bread for 55 Eurocents. An out-of-season mango for 2 Euros. A large punnet of fresh strawberries, in the middle of winter, for one point something Euros. 2.5 kilos of the most delicious brushed potatoes for 2 Euros. There are so many things that don't even cost a Euro. It was like shopping in the 1960s or something, but with Euros. A one liter bottle of Perwoll detergent cost 3.99 Euros - which, I was told, was way too expensive. And the alcohol - so cheap. I don't even remember what I paid for the two liter bottle of Jaegermeister and the Doppel Korn (I don't even remember leaving the store).
I went to a cafe and paid 2.50 Euro for two cups of coffee and two (large) pieces of cake.
All I can say is - "Move over America. Germany is the new Cockaigne. You don't have the monopoly on giant portions and cheap, delicious, good-quality food anymore."
I know that I am off-topic, but I am still in a daze. They wouldn't let me take the three liters of green groats with rhubarb, green apple, pear, gooseberries and kiwi fruits on the plane. Bastards!
https://translate.google.com.au/tra...this.org/gruene-gruetze-mit-kiwi/&prev=search
