Team GB hockey star opens Seaton's new Aldi supermarket

The supermarket was officially opened at 8am this morning (Thursday, September 21), with Team GB hockey hero Giselle Ansley cutting the red ribbon alongside pupils from Seaton Primary School.

The Underfleet Way store is the first Aldi to open in Seaton and will be run by manager James Spry, along with a team of 35 colleagues from the local community.

Team GB gold and bronze medallist Giselle Ansley gave away free bags of fresh fruit and vegetables from Aldi’s Super 6 range to the first 30 customers in the queue, before delivering an inspirational assembly for the primary school pupils.

She focused on the benefits of eating healthy food and the importance of exercise and believing in yourself. She also described her experience of competing as an Olympian and her challenging training regime.

Encouraging healthy eating

Aldi has been providing Team GB with vouchers for fresh, healthy food since 2015. It also runs its Get Set to Eat Fresh initiative, encouraging children aged five to 14 to learn about the benefits of cooking fresh, healthy food with their families.

Aldi Seaton offered the Seaton Primary School pupils the opportunity to win a £20 gift voucher to spend at the new store. The children were tasked with creating a poster showing what healthy eating means to them. Giselle Ansley announced the winner during the assembly and the pupil was presented with their £20 voucher.

Store manager James Spry said: “It’s been a wonderful morning here at the opening of Aldi Seaton. It was lovely to welcome our new customers into store, and I look forward to meeting more of the community in the coming weeks. I’m also thrilled that we’ve been able to support Seaton Primary School through our partnership with Team GB.”

Giselle Ansley said: “I’ve had a fantastic time opening the new Aldi this morning. It was an honour to officially open the store and welcome customers inside for the first time.

“It was great to speak with the children at Seaton Primary School about the importance of eating healthily and how it can be fun to plan and prepare meals as a family. Hopefully I’ve also managed to inspire the pupils to keep active and try different sports.”

What Aldi's offering Seaton customers and charities

The new store offers fresh British meat products, a ‘Food to Go’ section at the front of the store, and an exclusive section of health and beauty products.

The ‘Aisle of Aldi' will offer ‘Specialbuys’ every Thursday and Sunday. During opening week these will include a range of baking essentials including a professional kitchen mixer for £129.99, measuring cups and sieves for £6.99 a pack and non-stick bakeware for £2.99 each.

The store is calling on local charities and food banks to register with Neighbourly, a community engagement platform that links businesses to charitable organisations in the local community. Those that register will be able to collect surplus food and perishable products, such as fruit, vegetables and baked goods, seven days a week. Any charities in the area that would like to partner up with the new Aldi store should email aldi@neighbourly.com.

The supermarket is open Monday to Saturday from 8am until 10pm, Sundays 10am until 4pm.