'It went bananas': Surprising Aldi item flying off shelves

The coronavirus has seen all kinds of whacky and specific products become overnight sensations, selling out in record time and even sparking some serious altercations in the aisles.

We all know of the great toilet paper scramble, the rush for pasta, the flour that wouldn’t sit on the shelves for longer than five minutes at a time, but there is another essential that many don’t realise was selling out just as quickly, and is still flying off shelves.

Aldi has revealed their coffee brand Lazzio was in unprecedented demand when shoppers began to stock up on essentials, with supermarket and supplier struggling to keep the item in stock.

The supplier in question is a local one, Victorian coffee brand Black Bag Roasters, who come under Aussie company the Nomad Coffee Group, a business who claims they were saved by the spike in Aldi sales, as cafes and restaurants also stocking their coffee were forced to shut up shop.

The beans won Gold at the world’s largest coffee roaster’s event back in 2018, and were a clear winner for workers stuck making their own coffees at home.

Aldi sales ‘went bananas’ for Lazzio coffee

CEO of the Aussie group Craig Dickson has revealed that the company’s sales from Aldi jumped more than 50% during the lockdown period, a life-saver after they initially feared major losses from the pandemic.

“Aldi went bananas for about six weeks,” he told industry publication Smart Company.

“There were people who used to be sales reps doing deliveries … others normally in customer service ended up in the packing line.”

The CEO told News.com.au the turnaround came after they were forced to hold emergency meetings after business plummeted in the wake of the shutdown.

“I think we had our first emergency meeting on around the 12th of March where we started taking corrective action,” he told the publication.

“Our traditional business declined but Aldi sales were up more than 50 per cent for probably a six to seven-week period.”

Mr Dickson admitted that had it not been for the booming Aldi business the company would have had to consider standing down some permanent staff after letting casuals go.

He told Smart Company that initially half the businesses they supplied shut up shop, and without Aldi’s surge they would have been in serious trouble.

Aussie brands that surged under lockdown

It’s not the first Aussie business to see an unexpected surge in sales.

Beauty company Sand & Sky saw a mammoth spike of 600% in online orders of their face masks when people were asked to stay home.

Experts also revealed homewares have spiked dramatically during the lockdown period as Aussies begin ‘nesting’ as part of their newly home-based lifestyle.

Similarly, women’s alternative period products also noted a remarkable jump after panic buying cleared shelves in March following the pandemic being declared.

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