ALDI's New Drip Is Sexy As Hell

Repping one's favorite food and beverage brands by wearing their merch has become hugely popular in recent years, and it translates to big business. These drops not only connect with streetwear culture and capitalize on collectors' appetite for limited-edition items, but the swag also turns the wearer into a walking advertisement for the brand. We've seen a lot of this drip come and go, usually involving fast food. But as the nation's fastest-growing grocery chain, ALDI didn't want to be left behind: the company just released its largest batch of gear to date, and fans are snatching it up.

While we're used to fast food and consumer product brands selling both fashionable duds and weird swag, its not often you get an entire grocery store chain releasing a wide array of wearables. But the brand keeps proving what we already know: ALDI aims to please.

ALDI's latest swag includes track suits, hats, socks, slides, pants, shirts, and more, all decked out with the store's signature colors of dark blue, orange, red, and yellow. Everything is under $10 and is available at ALDI stores in the ALDI Finds aisle (while supplies last). The hype around this particular drop has been pretty energetic: I'm seeing multiple friends of mine posting pictures of their clothing finds, and fans online are also showing off what they've snagged.

Reddit is one online destination where people have been showing off their swag, especially in the subreddit /r/aldi. You've got entire groups of fans posing for pics, each with enthusiastic captions:

• "Aldi supported us through college, so we support Aldi"
• "Easily the most fashionable my wife and I have ever been."
• "y'all know I had to"
• "I bought my boyfriend the aldi sweatpants... Little did I know, he came home with the full gear later"

Unfortunately, there have been some complaints about opportunists aggressively clearing shelves for resale. Sure enough, I've already found a batch going for a whopping $500 on eBay. This is unfortunately common with any type of mass merch drop—just ask McDonald's, whose Cactus Plant Flea Market toys hit eBay in a big way after selling out at restaurants nationwide.

I receive a lot of branded promotional swag in my line of work, so I've developed an eye for these things, and I've got to say that the design on the new ALDI stuff is pretty good, especially compared to a lot of what I've seen. Since this isn't a one-off stunt mailer being sent to influencers so they can post on TikTok about it, but rather a product actually being sold to customers in ALDI stores, the design looks well thought-out. Besides, who doesn't love a good tracksuit?

Love them or hate them, merch drops, especially apparel, are an industry trend that's not going anywhere anytime soon. They're too profitable for companies to pass up, and even your cult favorite grocery store chain is getting in on it.