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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
National
Jess Grievson-Smith & Kieran Isgin

'I checked Aldi's middle aisle at my local store and it was a hidden treasure trove'

Aldi's middle aisle has become renowned for offering some surprisingly good, if not random, products. From a Kevin the Carrot which led to customers forming hours-long queues throughout Christmas to an egg chair which had people waking up at 5am, the middle aisle at Aldi has almost become a British pop culture icon.

It has partly earned this status by being subject to social media 'hacks' where consumers believe they discovered exact replicas of Jo Malone perfumes for less than half the price while recently stating a pizza oven was on offer for thousands cheaper than one of its rivals. Aldi's bargain pizza oven is said to be an exact replica of the £2,959 Fontana pizza oven.

Meanwhile, a recent product that was sold out in the blink of an eye was a Special Buy hot tub going for less than £500. Customer advice site Which? recently recalled that Aldi has boasted itself as the cheapest supermarket for six of the last 12 months while its competitor Lidl was the cheapest for only five months.

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Because of this, a reporter from Yorkshire Live headed to their local store in Ripon, North Yorkshire, to go on the hunt for some hidden treasures at the supermarket's mythical middle aisle. Jess Grieveson-Smith stated they were a sucker for a bargain and were tempted to get their hand on the egg chair for a few months. Upon heading to Aldi's middle aisle, their partner remarked they would likely head home with something they wouldn't need.

Aldi's padded trousers stood a bit out of place (Jess Grieveson-Smith/Yorkshire Live)

And well...he was not wrong - the aisle had stacks upon stacks of items the reporter was unable to purchase online such as a geometric fire pit and a scalloped pet chair. However, there were some other items which seemed very out of place such as padded trousers and a 'tobacco and vanilla' perfume. Another odd item that caught their eye was a living wall surrounded by piles of Stranger Things branded cushions.

Despite this, it appeared that the real treasures in the middle aisle were just a short discovery away. Items such as a circular rug weaving kit and a dumpling press seemed appealing and were simply asking to be purchased. More impressively, there was a shelved lamp and a Rattan Effect 3 Piece Egg set which also caught the reporter's eye.

Unable to get the item out of her head, she checked online and purchased the item through delivery. Another item which went viral on TikTok was also available for purchase - a three reed diffuser which allegedly smelled just like the designer Jo Malone scents.

Aldi in Ripon had a lot of Gardeline products (Jess Grieveson-Smith/Yorkshire Live)

Ignoring the purchase of a full garden furniture set, the reported only spent £5.97 in the store. And while it was clearly a steal for all the items purchased, there was an air of ridiculousness regarding the situation - after all, would any of us actually be that interested in making their own circular rug or folding butter tray.

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