Yahoo Finance Aldi fends off Waitrose to win top drinks gong
First it stunned gin aficionados up and down the country by scooping a top industry award.
Then it had whisky connoisseurs choking on their single malts by beating pricey rivals to another gong.
Now discount supermarket chain Aldi has done it again by being crowned drinks retailer of the year – fending off the challenge of upmarket challenger Waitrose in the process.
READ MORE: Aldi’s discount whiskies defeat major brands in international competition
“We saw some amazing entries into the Drinks Business awards this year and the standard was very high,” said a spokesman for the trade body.
“Aldi successfully answered all of our criteria and were without a doubt this year’s drinks Retailer of the year.”
This latest accolade comes after an impressive haul of 41 medals at the International Wine Challenge just last week.
Tony Baines, joint managing director of corporate buying at Aldi, said his UK team work hard to ensure that each product, which is bought specifically for the UK market, is excellent quality and is sold at the best possible price.
“Brits know that they don’t just have to rely on boutique wine stores for quality drinks nowadays,” he said.
“We’ve put a real focus on innovation this year; we’ve launched several new wine ranges and added a premium gin to our core range.
“It is great to see that our offering is being praised so highly by industry bodies and consumers alike.”
READ MORE: Marks & Spencer fends off Aldi and Lidl to be crowned supermarket of the year
Aldi is now the UK’s fifth largest supermarket with over 700 stores and over 29,000 employees, overtaking the Co-op earlier in the year. It has more than doubled its market share since 2010.
