Aldi has impressed a lot of shoppers in recent years. The grocery store chain, which has been popping up in states across the country, continues to deliver on its promise to offer high-quality items at an affordable price. While the store is able to keep their dry goods cheap by selling mostly their own store brand, they can also deliver on their promise of giving customers what they want in terms of produce and meat – but what’s Aldi’s secret to keeping their meat selection so cheap?

But first, some history. If you thought that Aldi Supermarkets were American, you are wrong. The chain was founded by two brothers in Germany right after the end of World War II. Brothers Karl and Theodore Albrecht opened their store in 1946 after they took over their mother’s market in Essen, Germany.

“Aldi is the common brand of two German family-owned discount supermarket chains with over 10,000 stores in 20 countries and an estimated combined turnover of more than €50 billion.”

Twenty years into the company’s timeline, the organization split into two different companies. They were known as Aldi Nord and Aldi Süd. In the United States, these two companies own a combined 1,600 stores. If you’re familiar with the popular grocery store Trader Joe’s, then you might be surprised to know that they’re part of the operation first launched by the Albrecht brothers.