When Lidl first burst onto the UK supermarket scene in 1994, Brits up and down the country were astounded by the low prices.
Before that, Tesco, Asda and even Safeway had reigned supreme – and more than 30 years on, it’s safe to say that it remains a bargain fave.
And, let’s be honest, we’ve all come home with something random from the middle aisle at one point or another. Inflatable canoe, anyone?
Now, the supermarket chain is celebrating the launch of its 1,000th store opening – in East Grinstead in Sussex, no less.
To mark the opening, the retailer is giving away limited-edition Lidl gingerbread kits, and trust us when we say you’ll want to get your hands on one, as there are surprises hidden inside – including £100 vouchers.
The kit does exactly what it says on the (biscuit) tin: it’s a buildable gingerbread house shaped just like the budget shop itself, and is intended for fans to build at home this Christmas.
And it gets even sweeter, as 10 lucky Lidl shoppers will find a gift-wrapped £100 Lidl Plus voucher inside their kits, that they can spend in-store, possibly on the big Christmas shop. Now, how’s that for festive spirit?
And the best part is, you don’t have to spend any money to try and win the prize, as Lidl is giving away 1,000 of the kits for free online from 10.00am on Thursday, November 27, while stocks last.
The kits themselves are modelled on the new store in East Grinstead, and come with everything you’ll need (or, dear reader, knead), including handmade gingerbread panels, icing, candy cane bollards, edible Lidl billboards, and chocolate-flavoured decorations.
They’ve been designed by a local, Sussex-based gingerbread expert, Fay Millar.
Joanna Gomer, marketing director at Lidl GB, said: ‘Reaching our 1,000th UK store is a huge milestone for Lidl, and we want to celebrate in a way that everyone across the country can enjoy.
‘Our gingerbread houses have been a customer favourite, so we mixed things up a bit by creating a special kit that not only showcases our new East Grinstead store, but also captures the fun and festive spirit of the season.’
This comes after Lidl unveiled a major change at the checkouts, which makes the whole experience even faster.
The retailer has reinvented the way they do things, launching a new self-scanning feature integrated directly into the Lidl Plus app.
The new self-scanning feature will be exclusively limited to members of the retailer’s loyalty scheme – Lidl Plus.
This feature allows users to scan items with their phone as they put them in their basket, before then scanning the app at a self-checkout and paying there.
A limited ‘friends and family’ four-store trial of the feature launched in September and is expected to be rolled out in phases over the course of 2026.
This scheme, of course, is not groundbreaking in any shape or form – traditional supermarkets have been offering this option for years. However, they are still a relatively new concept in discount stores.
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