Aldi has promised to provide the lowest food prices in the UK to help customers cope with the rising cost of living.

The grocer said it has gained 1.5 million extra customers in its stores over the past 12 weeks as consumers look for better deals.

Aldi is set to open 16 new stores over the next 12 weeks as part of a £1.3 billion expansion plan. It currently has over 970 shops and is developing its network of distribution centres and technology infrastructure to support growth.

This expansion will create over 6,000 new jobs this year, adding to the 4,500 permanent roles created last year, Aldi said.

In an annual trading update, the grocer said sales growth in the UK and Ireland had slowed in 2021, but had grown during the final six months as Covid restrictions were removed and consumers changed their shopping habits to cope with the cost of living crisis.

Aldi is now the UK’s fourth largest supermarket, overtaking Morrisons.

Giles Hurley, chief executive for Aldi UK and Ireland said: “Independent research shows our discount is as compelling as ever and that’s why more and more people are switching to Aldi. We will do whatever it takes to maintain our discount to the traditional full price supermarkets and keep grocery prices as low as possible for the millions of customers that shop with us.”

He added: “Preserving our price discount and rewarding our people will always be more important to us than short-term profit. Being privately owned means we can keep our promises even when times are tough.”

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