Aldi has been criticised by shoppers after it appeared to brag about how unhealthy its vegan line is on social media.
The supermarket – which has over 600,000 followers on Twitter – retweeted an image of vegan products a customer had purchased, with the caption: “‘Gonna be healthy this year cause I’m doing Veganuary’ said no one ever.”
Some shoppers have accused Aldi of being “irresponsible” for their marketing of “extremely high fat, salt and sugar processed foods.”
The tweet has since been deleted, however, it quickly garnered backlash. Lucy Haughey said: “You are profiteering over unhealthy foods & quite frankly I don’t believe you care a jott about #healthyeating or saving animals. It’s money money money for you”
It is irresponsible to market extremely high fat, salt, sugar processed foods as a "solution" to #Veganuary woes. You are profiteering over unhealthy foods & quite frankly I don't believe you care a jott about #healthyeating or saving animals. Its money money money for you.
— Author L.W. Hawksby The Narcissist Hunter (@LWHawksby) January 11, 2022
Across Twitter, other social media users also protested about the amount of nutritional information highlighted in red on the traffic light system across Aldi’s meat-free range.
READ MORE: Aldi named “most popular supermarket for vegan food”
Tom Gilman wrote: “Always surprises me how unhealthy a vegan diet from a supermarket is when you use the traffic light system.”
Always surprises me how unhealthy a vegan diet from a supermarket is when you use the traffic light system
— Tom (@tm_gilman) January 10, 2022
On the other hand, the discounter has received praise from other customers for its vegan range, which saw it crowned “the most popular supermarket for vegan food” by the Goodness project earlier this month.
Mickey Gifio wrote: “I am not a vegan, but honestly, the Aldi Plant Menu vegan range can’t be touched. Whether it is their cakes, burgers, etc they are amazing. Highly recommended if you want to reduce your meat intake.”
I am not a vegan, but honestly, the Aldi Plant Menu vegan range can't be touched. Whether it is their cakes, burgers, etc they are amazing. Highly recommended if you want to reduce your meat intake.
— Mickeyo Gifio 🇪🇺 🌍🇮🇹 (@clayblack75) January 6, 2022
“We aim to offer a range of exciting products to suit different lifestyles, including a selection of healthy plant-based items,” an Aldi spokesperson said.
“We also have several products that are intended to be an indulgent treat for our vegan customers to enjoy on special occasions.”
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