Aldi Releases 'Secret' Bulk Special Buys...Too Much Too Late

Aldi usually has pretty good timing with their Special Buys. But this time it was a case of “too much…way too late”, with their unadvertised bulk special buys.

I was grabbing winter gear this morning at my local Aldi, (PS: the men’s fleeces are so cosy) when I noticed some unusual items on the “middle aisle” shelves.

There were big packages of toilet paper and gynormous catering-sized brown bags of flour and sugar. How I would have loved to have seen these bulk special buys a few weeks ago. But now that shelves are back to their normal stocks, these grocery staples looked forlorn and ignored. Seriously, what would I do with a 12.5 kilo bag of flour? My chubby iso-body certainly doesn’t need any more cakes.

Too Late

The team who order the special buys probably thought they were being brainy by bringing in bulk special buys when there was a country-wide shortage during the peak of the COVID-19 crisis. But they didn’t count on the long delays in getting the items from factory to store and now this move will most likely cost them big time.

The bags contain 12.5kg of flour, self-raising flour and sugar and are priced at $14.99 each, which works out to be $1,20 a kilo. Not bad at all (if you’ve got the storage space, that is).

aldi-special bulk buys flour — Image via Aldi Mums / facebook

Unadvertised

These were a bit of a ‘secret’ as they certainly didn’t appear in any of the bi-weekly emails advertising the upcoming featured items. Aldi probably hoped they’d slip under the radar, but they’re somewhat too large to go unnoticed.

The Aldi Mums Facebook page made the same discovery and shared pics of the over-sized bulk special buys on their page. Fans of the discount retailed were quite bemused by the mammoth items.

“Maybe they know something we don’t or they just missed the mark. We needed it about 6 weeks ago,” said one comment.

“Prob ordered bulk to help with the shortage but by the time it arrived the shortage was over,” said another.

What Would You Do With It All?

One crafty mum suggested that we could freeze the flour (although who has the icebox space for that?) and another warned that this was just a breeding paradise for weevils – yuck!!!

If you’re a chef, (very) keen baker or in catering, then you’ll be pleased to pick up these bulk special buys. Or perhaps you’ve got a large attic where you can store the bags just in case the threatening second wave crashes down on us.

Would you be keen to buy these bulk special buys? Tell us in the comments below.

We may get commissions for purchases made using links in this post. Learn more.

44 Comments

- - meedee said
  - 24 Sep 2023
    7:53 am
The whole covid panic buying was insane. Im so glad i didnt take part in that at all.

- - sars_angelchik said
  - 05 Aug 2021
    10:32 am
I never understood the desperation for toilet paper. I think now people are just doing it to be funny. The world will not end if you run out. If you’re stuck at home anyway, just have a quick shower.

- - Number One Mum said
  - 18 Aug 2020
    6:35 pm
Hopefully because it’s a bit late for these items they will go on sale before the use by date or Atleast a few dollars taken off as they won’t have to room for these items to take up so much space in there store’s

- - Sarah said
  - 12 Jul 2020
    3:39 pm
It will sell, perhaps slower than expected but it will. Farmers, big families with home cooking mummas, regional people or people who only visit towns with an aldi very seldom… it seems an awful lot but it’s not that hard to use up when you cook everything from scratch

- - mom111059 said
  - 30 Jun 2020
    11:50 am
Lots of things Id consider buying in bulk but not flour.

- - hexrex said
  - 17 Jun 2020
    5:33 pm
I would never use that much flour

- - MisChip said
  - 10 Jun 2020
    10:39 pm
Wow, that is a lot of flour. May be good to make a tonne of play dough!

- - mom264171 said
  - 06 Jun 2020
    2:09 pm
We don’t use flour that much and don’t think we would ever need a bag that big!

- - Ellen said
  - 31 May 2020
    8:13 am
Why is this considered secret ?

- - DaffyD said
  - 30 May 2020
    12:55 pm
I saw them but could never use them all

- - mom418449 said
  - 29 May 2020
    10:47 am
Oh my! These bags are huge! Hopefully they can move the stick speedily! I certainly wouldn’t be buying in this capacity.

- - ashna9 said
  - 28 May 2020
    8:41 pm
I’m sure it will end up selling even if it takes a bit longer.

- - mom460689 said
  - 28 May 2020
    5:51 pm
I wouldn’t use such a huge bag of flour but the toilet paper would be ok, because lets face it, we all need toilet paper so a big amount would be fine to stash away in the shed so you dont need to think about it for a while.

- - tessie said
  - 28 May 2020
    3:31 pm
I wouldn’t use this amount in a year. Now if it was Philadelphia cheese, biscuits or condensed milk then I’d be all for it. Maybe some of the small businesses may need it when they can finally get back to a sort of normal situation.

- - Tan121517 said
  - 28 May 2020
    12:04 pm
This just saved me a trip to costco which I was thinking of doing this week as I have just run out of plain flour! Perfect timing for me! I had just done a big costco stock up the weekend before all the panic buying problems started (coincidence but good timing). I store the flour in large white catering sour cream containers. The lids seal air tight and they are soo handy for bulk dry good like flour, sugar and rice. There must be a market for bulk items or costco would not be so popular. I prefer to buy all the basics in bulk to have on hand.

- - rovermum said
  - 28 May 2020
    11:12 am
Nope! I didn’t panic buy in the first place and I really have no interest or space to bulk buy.
- Ellen replied
  
  31 May 2020 , 8:12 am
  That’s me
- - Frankiielot said
  - 28 May 2020
    10:37 am
I never knew you freeze flour?! I just thought if any water got into it, it’d be ruined.
Bulk buys like flour are good for me though as I do a lot of baking and have also been using it to thicken up my soups so this is perfect and I will definitely be going to pick one up if there’s any left!

- - mom414719 said
  - 28 May 2020
    10:03 am
I usually buy wholemeal flour so unless that is one of the products, I am not likely to buy. I don’t use sugar either. It is a little too late for most of these products but could come in handy for some people.

- - sars_angelchik said
  - 28 May 2020
    8:53 am
Lol! That’s pretty funny!

- - Ellen said
  - 28 May 2020
    6:32 am
Buying in bulk is of all times.