It may sound un-brie-lievable, but there’s an entire job position dedicated to choosing which types of cheese Aldi sells in its dairy case. Kim Brazington, director of national buying at Aldi, has been on the “cheese staff” at the grocery chain for 14 of her more than 20 years with the company, and says her position often seems too gouda be true.
Brazington—who is a Certified Cheese Professional—and her team work with cheesemakers from around the world to decide which varieties of cheese make it onto Aldi shelves nationwide. Whether you’re picking up a pungent Stilton to enjoy with crackers or some flavored goat cheese for your weekend charcuterie board, it’s Brazington who’s helped pick which cheeses will sell cheddar than others.
But, as Aldi shoppers know, it’s all those magical holiday cheeses that set the supermarket apart. Brazington says while Aldi stocks about 50 cheeses year-round, the chain adds about 100 more specialty and holiday cheeses rotating in and out during the months surrounding the holidays.
“It’s a pretty big uplift,” Brazington says of the specialty cheeses that she and her team collaborate with makers on, “but we recognize that during any holiday is when customers are really entertaining and making those charcuterie boards.”
The Amazing World of Aldi Holiday Cheeses
Aldi’s holiday specialty cheese season typically kicks off in September with Halloween-themed cheeses like Scary Pumpkin Spice Wensleydale or Freaky Franken Sage Derby, Brazington says. The winter holiday season inspires everything from Christmas tree- and sweater-shaped cheese to goat cheese with eggnog, gingerbread, and cranberry stuffing flavors. But nothing rules Christmastime cheese at Aldi like its incredibly popular cheese advent calendar.
“We’ve been doing the cheese advent calendar now for six years and I like to think we played a big part in making cheese advent calendars as popular as they are today,” she says. “Ours gets a lot of buzz on social media and is really popular with customers.”
Whether it’s a heart-shaped, Valentine’s Day-themed Wensleydale with raspberries and white chocolate or Irish beer- or whiskey-infused cheeses on St. Patrick’s Day, Brazington says creativity is key. Sometimes, the more creative the better, including a cheddar rubbed with espresso and lavender, which Brazington says was a surprising hit. “That one’s gotten a lot of buzz,” she says. “I think when people hear espresso and lavender they think it’s a little bit weird, but it really does make for a really great combination and our customers have really enjoyed it.”
In addition to unique, seasonal cheese varieties and cheeses that pop up as part of Aldi’s weekly Aldi Finds program, Brazington says there are always staple varieties that remain stocked on shelves year-round. “We’re fortunate enough that we work with some of the best cheesemakers throughout the U.S. and really across the globe,” she says. “A lot of the cheesemakers in the U.S. that we work with are actually certified master cheesemakers, and we work with some of the best ones.”
This means whatever kind of cheese you pick up on your next Aldi run, whether it’s a holiday or a normal weekday, you can be confident it was chosen with love by Brazington and her team.
