The Brand That's Likely Behind Aldi's Parmesan Cheese
In most cases, when you buy the generic version of a product, you're settling for less. At Aldi however, you can generally expect the quality to still be good, if not better, than the name brand. There are plenty of Aldi copycat products that taste like the real thing, and even some that customers swear are better than the originals, such as the knock-off Heinz ketchup and Aldi's version of Eggo waffles. The store's grated Parmesan cheese, sold under the Aldi brand Reggano, also comes highly rated.
As YouTuber FoodFights shared in a side-by-side taste test of Reggano and Kraft Parmesan cheese, the two products look and taste virtually identical. The only major difference is that Aldi's is cheaper. While you might assume that Aldi just did an amazing job at replicating the name brand's recipe, the truth is that Reggano Parmesan may simply be Kraft Parmesan with a different label.
Is Aldi Parmesan cheese the same as Kraft Parmesan cheese?
The branding on the bottles may be different, but if you look closely at the label on the back, there's a telling similarity. The list of ingredients, from the cellulose powder to the potassium sorbate, is the same, and they're also listed in the same order. While the Kraft version discloses that the product is manufactured by Kraft Heinz, the information is conveniently left out on the Reggano bottle, which only states "distributed by Aldi." Both cheeses however name Illinois as the product's origin. Considering these similarities, it wouldn't be too far-fetched to assume that Kraft is behind Reggano Parmesan cheese.
In his review, YouTuber FoodFight did observe that Kraft's cheese is clumpier, but, as another customer pointed out, grated Parmesan always tends to clump after it's been refrigerated. According to the ingredients lists, both products use the same anti-clumping agent (cellulose powder), so perhaps the YouTuber was just using a refrigerated bottle in his review. Clumping aside, there's no denying how similar the products are, even if Reggano Parmesan isn't really manufactured by Kraft.
The reason Aldi sells Parmesan cheese under its own brand
If you shop at Aldi, you know that even though the majority of the items are generic, you can still find a few name-brand products on the shelves. However, as stated on the Aldi website, the company is very selective about name brands. "We made this decision in response to feedback from our customers, who have strong brand preferences, yet would like to complete more of their grocery shopping at Aldi." Judging by this statement, Aldi will only sell a non-Aldi product if it's from a leading brand that customers consistently choose over store brands regardless of price.
Since the Parmesan cheese at Aldi is sold under the store's brand, it means customers don't have a strong brand preference for Parmesan cheese. Regardless of whether or not Reggano Parmesan cheese is truly manufactured by Kraft, it seems Aldi would rather keep the price of the product as low as possible for its customers.