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Monarc Indulge Gourmet Ice Cream 1L $3.99 (Selected Flavours) @ ALDI

1570
  • Belgian Chocolate
  • Coffee Mocha
  • Vanilla Bean
  • White Chocolate Raspberry
  • Cookies & Cream

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ALDI
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closed Comments

  • +15

    Bring back the mint flavour!

    • +3

      I reckon, but boy do I love the Coffee Mocha one. I also destroyed almost a full tub of the Raspberry White Chocolate one last night too which is another great one.

      • +7

        Dang your gonna get Diabetes real fast

        • +18

          I have very low blood sugar levels even with the crazy amounts of sugar I eat. I have a great relationship with my body - I move my ass every day (run 12.5km 5 days a week and walk 12.5km the other 2) and my metabolism takes care of the rest.

          • +5

            @D1977: Jesus

          • +4

            @D1977: 12.5k is a very weirdly specific number to run.

            • +29

              @Willywolfy: Maybe the nearest pub is 6.25klm from his house?

            • +5

              @Willywolfy: Easy. It’s from my place to the ferry wharf and back.

          • +12

            @D1977: Oh boy, I don't think exercise is the answer. Sugar absorption happens straight after eating them. Your pancreas has to work extra hard to pump out all that insulin. The damage is already done whether you go for a run later or not.

            • +4

              @kiddingmyself: What you say about sugar is correct.. but if Jesus doesn't have a habit of eating half a tub of ice cream every day, there's no damage

              Our body isn't that delicate and pathetic.. sometime, it's good for the soul to just throw diet to the wind for a day and enjoy your life.

              Everything in moderation.

              • +6

                @PuppieWayne: Bingo. I don’t eat an almost full tub of ice cream every day, but I also don’t worry about my diet and eat anything. I don’t do take away fast food, but I do love my sweets. I exercise most days so I don’t have to worry about what I eat. My cholesterol is super good as are my blood sugar levels.

              • @PuppieWayne: Jesus turns it into cabbage when it enters his stomach

          • -4

            @D1977: Still with the amount of unsaturated fats and sugar in your diet (assuming you eat like this every 2days), and the stress you put yourself through, your organs are g Fonda cup it..
            You are at risk of heart disease still%from excess fats.

      • +1

        It sounds like you ingested >200g of sugar

        Diabetes mellitus is a horrible, insidious disease. It destroys every tissue in your body, including your mind. Only after oncology have I found some of the saddest stories on endocrine wards.

        • +1

          And more than half kilo of salt, if we believe your link.

    • Yes! Please! I loved it so much.

    • +1

      Do you enjoy toothpaste that much?

    • I know! Why is Mint flavour hardly always not available in pretty much all supermarkets such as Wollies and Coles too?

    • +1

      Mint is back in Vic YMMV though

  • +8

    Nice find nocure. Also noticed Elmsbury Premium Pies $3.99

    Some say these are rebranded Herbert Adams Pies.

    • bought some yesterday - are these really hebert adams?

    • +5

      Patties Foods makes Four & Twenty and Herbert Adams pies. They also manufacture pies/sausage rolls etc for Aldi, so these are likely those ones.

      Source: I visited the Patties factories in Pakenham and Bairnsdale VIC a few months ago :)

      • +8

        Just because it's the same factory doesn't mean it's the same product though. Could easily be lower quality ingredients.

        That being said, it's pretty easy to figure out, just compare the ingredients list.

        • +1

          Exactly. The nutritional info is slightly different between the two products, but the Aldi ones taste very similar.

        • -2

          You probably not aware that the cost of segregating and planning 2 different sets of ingredients on the same production line will far exceed the cost of selling one batch a bit cheaper than the other. And if the nutritional information on both products are the same they're essentially the same thing.

          • +5

            @lgacb08: This is correct, but given the nutritional information on both products are not identical, it is unlikely to be the same production.

          • +1

            @lgacb08: Considering the volume Aldi is buying from them, I won’t be surprised if they have production line dedicated just for Aldi.

        • +3

          Last time I compared the ingredient list they were identical. I believe it was comparable to the HA Sous Vide but can't be certain.

          You have to be very careful with Herbert Adams Pies. Since they were taken over I feel their quality has taken a noticeable drop and indeed the only one with over 30% meat is the "Slow Cooked King Island Beef in Rich Gravy" That's the one you want when on special…

          • @freddofrog42: Yes, thank you for clarifying that, I thought I’m the only one who felt lower quality on their pies.

    • Do the pies really look like the photo on the packaging?

      • Had a couple on Friday. They were pretty bloody good.

  • +4

    how does this ice cream compare to connoisseur? I am currently going thru a 5L lewis vanilla 3 beans ice cream from costco - pretty good!

    • +1 Want to know how this ice cream compared to connoisseur.

      Having said that, Sara Lee latte cookies and cream (on special at Coles VIC) taste delicious too

      • +1

        Tbh this and connoisseur taste pretty much the same. Tho connoisseur is still a bit more richer taste wise. And always will. And I'm fine with paying $12 for icecream. It's a pretty solid deal

        • +1

          You guys need to get gelato tubs, after that you can’t go back to supermarket’s ice cream. Nowadays, I only buys tubs from Gelato Franco in Marrickville here in Sydney. Quality over quantity.

    • Not quite as good imo, but it’s also not a bad option at less than half the price.

    • +1

      Its better IMHO. Then there is the price factor, which is nearly 2 for 1. No brainer.

    • +1

      Same of better, definitely better than Sara Lee

    • The vanilla tastes like gasoline

      • +18

        E10 or Premium 98?

      • +11

        What a fuelish thing to say.

      • +4

        Didn't know we had gasoline in this country

    • -1

      Pretty close to Connoisseur. That's how Aldi would want it anyway. If you have a product on their shelves and don't agree to their prices, they'll take your product, make a near replica in taste/packaging and sell it for less.

      • ALDI doesn't make a near replica, they ask you to make the near replica, if you're too lazy to switch the formula and wash the line before swapping for their packaging they don't even care.

        • That's not how it worked in my experience. They took them off to Germany, copied the product and packaging, then brought it back.

          • -2

            @Clear: Not food, give me an everyday item that they make in Europe? Most of the daily staples are Australian made: bread are essentially the same as Helga, all the chips and dorritos copycat are made from the same production line as smiths, most of the frozen sruff too.
            you do realise that it's economically unviable to make those in Europe and ship it here, it's cheaper for both parties to do it the way Aldi want in exchange for shelf space in the stores and pallet spots in Aldi warehouses.

            • +1

              @lgacb08: On the other hand most of the sliced cheeses (250g packs of swiss/maasdam/Gouda etc) are all shipped from switzerland/holland/etc. They still send it here in plastic packaging presliced and undercut Colesworths by a long way.

              Speaking of which, a few years ago we could get maasdam cheese that was made in Australia for under 20 bucks a kg, now it's not even available. What happened to that?

            • +1

              @lgacb08:

              you do realise that it's economically unviable to make those in Europe and ship it here, it's cheaper for both parties to do it the way Aldi want in exchange for shelf space in the stores and pallet spots in Aldi warehouses.

              That's what I would have thought but I remember a a few years back Coles got in trouble for their "fresh baked" bread that was in fact shipped over frozen from Germany (link).

            • @lgacb08: This is categorically wrong. Coles and Woolworths both import an obscene amount of food from Europe including things like bread. Someone else has linked an ABC article talking about the bread importation.

          • @Clear: Packaging yes. For most items they source production locally.

    • +1

      a good way to compare is to buy both products

    • +1

      Connoisseur is a little bit denser and creamier, while the aldi one is airer and melts faster. Surprisingly I prefer the aldi mint version as it tastes less toothpastey

    • Well it should taste the same because the packaging is copy/paste, then the name changed. But that’s what Aldi do. I’m surprised they can get away with it. Puts me off them, they should just be original like everyone else and stop leeching off branding.

    • To be honest I prefer golden gay time over all these

  • 2nd time these have been at this price in the past few months. I’m still going through my previous ones I bought. Love these ice cream.

  • Made where ? OZ or Kiwi

    • +4

      Takes one click to see 'Product of Australia' on the website listing.

      • +1

        Thanks tacos !

  • Woohoo. Been thinking to pick up a vanilla bean ice cream again. Tried the Connoisseur vanilla not too long ago when it was discounted and gotta say I prefer the Aldi one which is cheaper at the everyday price. Personal preference thing I'm sure.

  • Connoisseur spent millions creating and marketing their unique branding and then Aldi comes along and just clones it, like they do with every other of their home brands. I think they are even using the same font and the same font colour, just at a different weight.

    • +6

      And there's nothing wrong with competition and destabilizing monopolies to lower prices. I'll always pick the cheaper option if the quality is nigh indifferent, i.e this product!!! :D

      • +9

        What is the need to clone existing distinct brands though? If you owned Connoisseur and I released Indulge you honestly wouldn't care if I capitalised on your brand marketing that you spent all that money marketing and time building up consumer recognition/trust with? Aldi does it this with most of their products too. Aldi's Remano pasta branding exists only because of San Remo, with the same red colouring on the sides. I have no problem with knock-off products, you never could copyright or trademark recipes. But knock-off branding designed to piggyback on other brands marketing and consumer familiarity/trust seems underhanded. You can't honestly tell me that you believe the branding on Indulge would exist as it does if Connoisseur never existed, or that it doesn't instantly remind you of Connoisseur. It's so similar that anyone familiar with the branding but not the name Connoisseur might confuse the two products. They might misremember seeing Indulge on a billboard, on TV, social media ad, or seeing it in the fridge at a friend's place.

        • It does seem underhanded for sure, but you're forgetting that the very nature of a monopoly creates unfairness for other competitors in the market. We are no longer in an era of single companies owning an innovation or product. Sure, it took a lot of effort on Connoisseur's part to create and build up their branding from scratch. That's what you pay for; you pay $10 or whatever for a single tub of Connoisseur ice cream because people love the brand and feeling of exclusiveness that comes from buying it. Same as owning an apple product - people will still buy it, but are aware that there are many cheaper knockoffs for lower prices that probably serve the same purpose and function. They like brand loyalty and being part of the ecosystem.

          You're missing the scope entirely on this discussion man. TLDR; economically, the world is deeply unfair and disadvantageous to many people, and if I could afford Connoisseur ice cream, I still probably wouldn't buy it. We all just want to SURVIVE. No need to care about brands or brand loyalty when struggling to make ends meet.

          • +7

            @tacos4brekkie: I guess I don't actually care so much, it just grinds my gears. It seems unAustralian somehow. I don't think Aldi is clever enough or makes original products high quality enough to create demand for a brand new premium ice cream brand of their own. So it feels unearned to just clone other brands. Connoisseur wasn't just about branding, people must like it because it met some kind of quality standard, and developing the flavours you see today must have taken a lot of time and effort. I have no problem at all with Aldi making their own premium ice cream and selling at at the same price as Indulge, I just don't think they should clone an existing brand along with the existing popular product. What if I spent time developing and marketing a product from my small farm and it built up into a nationally recognised brand that my whole family relies on for employment and wealth, I'd probably be pretty pissed off if someone cloned the whole thing down to the packaging, fonts, and colours but just changed the name.

            • +3

              @AustriaBargain: Legally the test for shadow brands (which is what you're describing) is whether consumers know they're shadow brands (ie they're not just confused and thinking they're buying the original). And that's been established in court for aldi in Australia several times - consumers do know what they're buying.

              Personally I'm not bothered by this at all. It's clear for economic growth that the focus has to be on what's best for consumers (within the boundaries of the law) rather than companies. Since it's both legal and good for consumers, I think it's great, and I wish it (lower prices and better quality) happened much more.

          • @tacos4brekkie:

            but you're forgetting that the very nature of a monopoly creates unfairness for other competitors in the market.

            no one has forgotten this, but please don't bring the discussion of monopoly when it comes to ice cream. There is no monopoly involved in Connoisseur IC ok.

        • By and large the aldi shopper isnt a brand name shopper

          If they were then they wouldnt be shopping at aldi

          Have i bought the ice cream ? Yes
          Did i buy it because of a name brand and the packaging ? Nope wouldnt have a clue of the real brand out there

          I bought it because i didnt want to buy the base spec icecream

          Did i buy it again ? Yes because the wife likes the vanilla flavour

          Would i spend twice the price on the name brand if it was available ? Nope not a chance in hell

        • +2

          Who cares if they care?

          They're corporations. They don't have feelings. Even if they did, nobody forced them to play in an open market.

    • +9

      If you have a brand on Aldi's shelf and you don't give in to their price demands (often below margin) then this is what they do. And it's not just "monopolies" but family run Australian businesses.

      Then you have Coles who are removing the "products in the middle". Quick example is that there used to be so many brands of sugar and now all you see is the really cheap Homebrand the more expensive brands. The stuff in the middle is gone.

      Woolworths payment terms are real bs but they won't flog you as hard as the others.

      My families' products are available nationwide except for Aldi 😉

      • Sure, not defending the duopoly at all and Connoisseur wouldn't have grown into the household brand it is without the duopoly of Colesworth. But I don't think Colesworth being scummy should be an excuse for Aldi ripping off brands, Connoisseur isn't owned by Woolworths, it's a Peters brand which is half owned by Nestle and half owned by private French equity firm. Now I don't have much love for Nestle or private french equity firms but they still own, developed, and paid for the Connoisseur brand. If Peters didn't spend millions marketing Connoisseur then Indulge wouldn't look like it does, and in fact the market for this exact kind of premium ice cream probably wouldn't exist in the first place.

        • +2

          I'm not defending Aldi or making excuses. Simply making a comparison of how less scummy Coles worth are. They get you in other ways but they don't make exact replicas.

        • -1

          The fact that you can buy Peters ice cream in Aldi right next to Indulge tells me that Indulge line is made by Peters too, there's not that many manufacturers in Australia that can produce product in volumes required for Aldi after all. If that's true, and I'm 95% sure it is, they don't have a problem with it.

          • +1

            @[Deactivated]: Was trying to find out who makes it, but found this older review of Indulge ice cream https://www.choice.com.au/products/food-and-drink/dairy/yogh…

            The design used to be very different, they must have more recently changed it to be a clone of Connoisseur. The bare arse cheek of it.

            • +1

              @AustriaBargain: You know you don't have to buy it, right? You can wait for almost too frequent 50% sale on Connoisseur ice cream and buy it then. Or you can buy it at full price and be happy that you just paid for all ads that were shown to you over the years of brand promotion. It's nice to have choice.

              Some ice cream was/is actually made by Norco: https://www.norco.com.au/about-awards.php

              • @[Deactivated]: Yes, these still are Norco ice cream, as are the Coles/Woolworths equivalents.

      • Last time I checked there's no brands on Aldi shelves unless it's some mid-week special. And the fact that same products appear there every six months tells me they're not sold below margin at all.

        • +1

          There's no brands when your brands have been removed and replaced by a copy when you won't sell below your margin. Things change as years go by.

          • @Clear: You can't remove something that was never there.

            Aldi sells handful of household brand names products (Arnotts and Peters and couple more) and unless you're talking about these two your product had zero chance being featured on Aldi shelves unless it was produced under Aldi own brand.

            • +1

              @[Deactivated]: The products were there, we wouldn't drop the price as low as they wanted, they took it to Germany, copied it, brought it back and then our product was pulled. Taking note this was 10+ years ago.

    • The font and the color seem to be different (looking at the shape of "G" for example), but it's quite obvious who Aldi copied.

    • Agree, I made this comment above. It’s lazy.

    • It could be made by Connoisseur, since Aldi’s new sourdough bread which is Sonoma clone is actually made by Sonoma. Their sausages too, made by company who make sausages for woolies and coles.

      If it indeed Indulge is made by Connoisseur, I would say that millions spends on R&D and marketing is successful. They have successfully created a product that dictate taste and cornered the market.

  • +1

    They pulled latest flavours off the shelves, some pear and maple, because of food recall, apparently forgot to list that facility also works with nuts.

    It's nuts.

    • Was anybody actually allergic to nuts 40 years ago? It seems allergies are going ballistic these days

      • Thanks Grandpa

        Now do "everybody today is soft, they need to live on a diet of beef, salt and water otherwise soy will make them gay", that's always a classic

      • @Homerlovesbeer, both Louis CK and I agree with you : https://youtu.be/wEb5a-I0kyg

  • +2

    obviously not on sale and a bit more expensive, but the Kapiti brand ice cream at aldi is soooooo good, especially for the price. they rotate flavours and we like it better than connoisseur but ymmv

    • It is good. I just finished smashing the Vanilla

  • +2

    Why don't they post the ingredients and nutritional information on their site like Coles and Woolies do?

    Are they trying to hide something?

    • +4

      Just go to the store. It will be on the package.

      • +4

        Would like to know before wasting a trip there…

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