Has Aldi Changed Another Fan-Favorite Item?

Come on, Aldi. Seriously? Again? You’ve changed another recipe? Apparently, the retailer can’t help itself this summer. Aldi’s had a busy couple of weeks being discussed by disappointed customers online for its alleged product changes: Early last week, we brought you two stores in two consecutive days about chatter regarding its granola bars and its beef smoked sausage, both of which have been accused of being tinkered with. Now, another item has allegedly been changed.

Videos by Sporked

And this one’s annoying a lot of people. Well, that’s what happens when you come for their chicken nuggets. 

Kirkwood Chicken Nuggets: Change Is Afoot

The dam broke a few days ago over on Reddit, when a customer posted a thread asking if anyone noticed whether Aldi’s Kirkwood Chicken Nuggets had changed. The customer posted a side-by-side comparison of the nuggets themselves, showing that the new ones were paler, with a mushier inside and a strange flavor. 

And boy, have people experienced the same. The Reddit thread received over 200 comments in two days, with a lot – and we mean a lot – of folks saying that they’ve noticed that they’ve changed for the worse. In a side-by-side comparison of the nutritional information of the old and new nuggets, the new ones have less protein in them and more fillers. Oh, and they now also contain milk (which could, if someone with a milk allergy’s used to buying the old version and purchases the new one without checking the label, be an issue). Apparently, the change has been enough to put people off entirely. 

What Gives, Aldi?

The change to the store’s chicken nuggets prompted a bunch of comments questioning the direction Aldi’s heading in – and given its commitment to removing dozens of ingredients from its foods in a bid to tidy up its products, it’s indeed a concern that its customers feel that it’s cheapening things. “This is one of their most popular items and they *still* decided to change it,” said a person in the Reddit thread. “If this was a decision made to save costs/increase profits, it’s a pretty big tell that they decided to change one of their most widely purchased products and risk the consumer response/reactions.”

We can’t disagree, to be honest. Aldi’s tendency to change suppliers and, in doing so, change products for the worse may not be unique to the store, but repeated irritation like this is hard to ignore.