Bill Duesenberg, Aldi USA

Bill Duesenberg is director of national buying for produce for Aldi USA, headquartered in Batavia, IL. Once relatively unknown to many U.S. grocery shoppers, it is now highly visible and one of the fastest growing retailers in the nation. Aldi’s carefully curated selection has attracted shoppers looking for bargains and kept them through quality and increasingly popular private labels and brands. We talked to Bill about Aldi’s meteoric growth and what lies ahead for the retailer.    

Tell us about your background and how you came to be at Aldi.

I started with Aldi in 2003 as a district manager in Faribault, MN, shortly after graduating college. Six years later, I was promoted to director of purchasing for the Batavia, IL division. 

In this role, I had the opportunity to oversee the procurement of a wide range of goods with a main focus on produce, ensuring that our division maintained its commitment to quality and cost-effectiveness. This role deepened my understanding of market trends in produce, while allowing me to build strong relationships with suppliers and optimize our product selection.   

In 2012, we began the centralization of our produce range from our divisions to nationally bought produce, and in 2015, I joined the national team in my current role, director of national buying for produce. It presented an exciting challenge—as has our rapid growth over the last 10 years.

In this role, I focus on sourcing fresh fruits and vegetables on a national scale for our 26 divisions, which involves collaborating with growers and suppliers across the country.

In this role, I focus on sourcing fresh fruits and vegetables on a national scale for our 26 divisions, which involves collaborating with growers and suppliers across the country. It’s crucial to ensure that while leading the team, we uphold the Aldi standard of providing customers with the best products at the lowest possible prices.    

I’ve been with Aldi my entire career because it’s a great place to continue learning and growing. Our strong culture keeps people around. 

Walk us through an average day or week. Do you travel to visit growers, wholesalers, or Aldi stores? Have your responsibilities changed significantly due to Aldi’s rapid growth?

The beauty of working in produce is that no day is the same. Leading my team to source the freshest produce and uphold our high-quality standards brings unique challenges and opportunities every day.

Recently, I’ve been increasingly focused on negotiating longer-term business plans and partnerships with our suppliers, so Aldi can foster relationships that contribute to the success of our produce growth.  As Aldi continues expanding its store footprint, it’s more important than ever that our produce meets the increasing demands of our customers.

Especially in this dynamic environment, my team and I are engaged and motivated to deliver the best for our customers every day while adapting to the needs of our expanding stores. Alongside our partners, we’re committed to providing the excellent quality produce our shoppers expect—that’s true no matter how fast we grow.  

Our goal is not only to cut costs but also to ensure we can effectively partner with our suppliers to deliver the most value to our customers.

What tech tools or apps do you find absolutely essential to doing your job?

Our business model is built on efficiency, and the tools we use are no different. We have a robust in-house software system that was built to simplify processes, facilitating better communication and collaboration for both our team and our suppliers.  

Additionally, we’ve put great focus into the development of our supply chain and logistics departments. Our goal is not only to cut costs but also to ensure we can effectively partner with our suppliers to deliver the most value to our customers. In doing so, we enable our suppliers to concentrate on providing us with quality products through the most efficient sourcing models. 

We also watch weather patterns and have a diversified geographical sourcing strategy in place. This approach helps us ensure consistency in supply, even when faced with unforeseen challenges in growing areas.

By combining efficient systems, strong supplier relationships, and strategic sourcing practices, we’re able to maintain a reliable supply of high-quality produce for our customers.  

Given Aldi’s store footprint, is there a ratio of fresh produce to other items, or does it depend on availability, seasonality, etc.? Does most buying come from domestic growers? For imports, are they tied to locale or region?  

With just 120 produce SKUs in our stores year-round, we keep a lean produce section that punches well above its weight. While it makes up about 6 percent of our total item count, it accounts for 98 percent of Americans’ most common produce needs. Since we focus on the most in-demand, high-quality items, shoppers know they can trust Aldi to deliver fresh, seasonal produce year-round. 

The majority of Aldi products are sourced from North America, and we source locally whenever possible, delivering fresh produce to stores daily so our shoppers can get the just-picked quality they’ve come to expect. In the Chicagoland area, for example, we source key summer essentials like watermelon, sweet corn, asparagus, and blueberries right here in the Midwest.

We also offer a curated selection of imported produce from different parts of the world. When we import, we look for best-in-class producers and align by region and season. Since 90 percent of the products on Aldi shelves are private label, we’re able to work directly with suppliers to ensure only the best produce makes it into stores.

At Aldi, we don’t spend much time thinking about the competition. Instead, we focus on setting the industry standard in price, quality, and experience.

Which retailers do you view as Aldi’s chief competition?

At Aldi, we don’t spend much time thinking about the competition. Instead, we focus on setting the industry standard in price, quality, and experience. Right now, we’re seeing that dedication pay off more than ever before, as we’re adding 800 new stores by the end of 2028 in direct response to shopper demand. 

The secret? Across our aisles, we deliver standout quality at the lowest prices of any national grocer, as found by the 2025 Aldi Price Leadership Report. This shows that our intentional differences—like our quarter cart system and the decision not to play music in stores—drive real savings.

But just as important, we make shopping easier. Smaller stores, smarter layouts, and a curated selection mean our shoppers can get in, out, and on with their days. Our Price Leadership Report also found that with an average shopping trip of just 30 minutes, 77 percent of shoppers say Aldi saves them time. 

What factors are most influencing Aldi’s success, especially in the produce department?

What’s fueling our success in produce is the same thing fueling our entire business: unmatched value and a commitment to innovating our selection.

Whether it’s organic Pink Lady apples or Cara Cara oranges, the 2025 Aldi Price Leadership Report found shoppers rank our produce as the industry’s freshest, and that customers can save up to 43 percent on fresh vegetables and 25 percent on fresh fruit when they shop Aldi. 

Beyond our produce staples, we’re constantly working to bring shoppers new, on-trend choices before they even knew they needed them, from snacking tomatoes-on-the-vine to jumbo blueberries and more. Across our aisles, we leverage our close supplier relationships to turn ideas into shelf-ready products in just months.  

Our Frozen Cotton Candy Grapes is a great example. On a routine visit to our grape supplier, we realized the grape’s naturally higher sugar content makes them more prone to falling off the vine, causing perfectly good fruit to go to waste. Seeing an opportunity, we created a delicious and convenient snack by freezing the grapes.

In 2024 alone, we saved nearly 50,000 pounds of grapes by transforming them into a unique and enjoyable product while promoting sustainability in our supply chain. This type of innovative partnership shows how we can find creative solutions to benefit both our suppliers and customers. 

Tell us about some of the creative or fun ways you engage with shoppers when it comes to produce.

We like to get the public as excited about Aldi as we are. That’s why, in June, we hosted our first-ever Aldi Farmers Market in Chicago to show shoppers that premium doesn’t always mean pricey. The event featured several booths, each offering complimentary samples showcasing the best of Aldi offerings across several categories.  

At our produce booth, we offered passersby our twist on an on-trend smoothie from a pricey Los Angeles grocer called the “Not-Your-$20-Strawberry-Glaze Smoothie.” It showcased some of our key produce offerings like fresh bananas, strawberries, and avocados, and ended up being a crowd favorite, especially after attendees found out they can recreate it at home for under $2. [Editor’s note: I can attest to the deliciousness of this smoothie after enjoying one at the Farmers Market event.]

We shared the recipe and ingredient list on our website for those who want to make it on their own, and as you can see from the reaction on Instagram, our shoppers are pumped! 

We’re always looking for ways to connect with our shoppers because we know they aren’t just customers—they’re dedicated fans. From lines around the block at 4 a.m. for Grand Openings to the dedicated Facebook group for our Aldi Finds aisle with more than 2.5 million members—and our iconic Aldi shopping bags—we see the passion for Aldi runs deep.