This Chic Aldi Kitchen Caddy Looks Like It Comes From A Fancy Brand (But It's Only 10 Bucks)

Shopping at Aldi usually promises great prices on pantry essentials and access to private-label groceries like the best kitchen sink cookies we've tried or delicious meat for simple birria tacos. Every so often, however, we find other kitchen goodies from Aldi's Crofton brand, like a gorgeous tabletop caddy we'd swear was ripped from the shelves of a bougie home goods store. The "iron tabletop caddy" is, as of this writing, available in both black and cream colorways for just $9.99. It's a clever little contraption with a shallow bowl and a slender handle that's perfect for lifting and carrying.

Across the board, Aldi's Crofton brand gets stellar customer reviews. Over on Reddit, happy customers praised the label's housewares. "I love Crofton! Some of my favorite kitchen items are now this brand!" read the title of one thread. "I haven't been disappointed yet by anything marked Crofton," the OP expounded. "I've got four skillets of varying sizes, [two], well now four, casserole baking dishes, an antibacterial cutting board and several cooking utensils. I love them all!" 

"That's a great little haul there," an admiring response read. "I got the smaller awesome pan on clearance for $7.50 last year, and I use it all the time." Elsewhere on the forum, commenters praised the Crofton cast iron, skillets, and stainless steel. They also speculated as to the manufacturer of the items — Aldi's lack of brand-name products is by design and generally involves big-name companies producing goods for Aldi to sell under its own banner. It's altogether possible that the charming tabletop caddy was manufactured by a fancy brand, although, of course, that's a matter of speculation.

Aldi's product pages for the caddies show them holding sauce bottles, and that's definitely a valid use for these steal-of-a-deal accessories. You could also deploy them as a home for your salt and pepper shakers (we like this set of electric grinders, which offer la-di-dah looks and adjustable coarseness for a superb bargain), or as an all-in-one condiment station for your next cookout or taco bar. Your ketchup and mustard would look mighty fine in this caddy! However, don't sell these items short ... we can also see using them as a pretty, lower-cost centerpiece for your table.

All you need is a small candle and some convincing artificial greenery like these highly-rated faux eucalyptus stems, and you have the components for a lovely focal point at your next dinner party. The key is not to cheap out too much on the greenery, because flowers and leaves that are very obviously fake will ruin the high-end look you're cultivating. If you have a particularly long table, you can even get two (or more!) and spread them out down the length.

If you are interested in Aldi's attractive, reasonable tabletop caddies, don't wait long to venture into your local store and pick them up. Aldi's stock is always rotating, and non-food items tend to be limited-time buys that change with the season. Of course, availability and pricing are liable to change by location. Check with your closest Aldi for stock before heading out on a dedicated run, or simply include them in your next regularly scheduled shopping trip.