ALDI IPA

SOCIAL MEDIA: ALDI / BREWDOG

BREWDOG’S ‘ALD IPA’ HITS ALDI SHELVES

AFTER A BIZARRE EXCHANGE OF TWITTER POSTS, ALDI WILL TOMORROW BEGIN STOCKING A NEW ALDIPA LINE FROM BREWDOG, HIGHLIGHTING THE GROWING ROLE OF SOCIAL MEDIA.

BY ANTONY BEGLEY

It all began, as it often does, with a series of fairly innocuous Tweets between Aldi and BrewDog but it rapidly escalated and the exchange of social media banter has resulted in a new product from BrewDog - ALD IPA - being listed from tomorrow in Aldi stores.

The new beer was first created as a joke tweet by BrewDog after fans commented on the striking resemblance between Aldi’s Anti-Establishment beer and BrewDog’s popular Punk IPA. Aldi is, of course, no stranger to the lookalike own brand model. In true BrewDog style, the Aberdeenshire indie giant suggested it might create a special ‘Yaldi IPA’ in response.

Aldi’s response was to suggest that “We would have gone with ALD IPA, send us a crate and we’ll talk”. Next thing you know, ALD IPA has been turned into reality and will feature on Aldi shelves from tomorrow as a Specialbuy on the tried and tested ‘when it’s gone, it’s gone’ model. It’s BrewDog’s first ever exclusive creation for a supermarket and is based on BrewDog’s Hop Fiction recipe. It will cost shoppers just £1.39 per can.

As part of the collaboration, Aldi and BrewDog will each donate a tree to be planted in the BrewDog Forest located in the Scottish highlands. BrewDog announced earlier this year that it is now a ‘carbon negative’ business as it takes twice as much carbon out of the air as it emits.

Graham Nicolson, Group Buying Director Aldi Scotland, says: “We couldn’t resist stocking ALD IPA, which supports our mission to work with the UK’s best independent suppliers. Plus, with customer enquiries through the roof after the conversation broke on Twitter - it really was a no brainer to give our shoppers what they want.”

James Watt, co-Founder of BrewDog comments: “Ald IPA has been one of our favourite collaborations to date, it’s definitely one no one saw coming! From a mockup on Twitter, to being stocked at Aldi stores across the UK, the response has been incredible. Most importantly, both BrewDog and Aldi have agreed that for every case sold an extra tree will be planted in the BrewDog Forest. A win-win for our customers, and the planet!”