Is McCormick Really The Brand Behind Aldi's Spices?

Sometimes it takes a bit of digging to figure out just which companies are behind Aldi's private brands, particularly since many are essentially copycats of other products. But, other times, it's not difficult at all. In this instance, some are seeing evidence that McCormick — one of the biggest names in spices — may be behind the budget grocery chain's Stonemill spice brand.

"Are Aldi's spices made by McCormick?" reads a post at the r/aldi subreddit that shows a shaker of Stonemill onion powder. "Bought this last weekend and just noticed it." Sure enough, the bottle's lid sports a distinctive "Mc" logo also seen on the lid of McCormick spices.

Is McCormick really behind Stonemill? Scrolling through the Stonemill spices on Aldi's website seems to back this up. Though we are unable to see the tops of the lids on Stonemill's garlic powder, crushed red pepper, and lemon pepper seasoning, we can tell that those lids all share the bright red color of McCormick. While it's difficult to tell for sure whether Stonemill is outright owned by McCormick, the lids provide a hint that the two brands are connected. Commenters on the r/aldi post suggested that the two might simply share manufacturers, as many brands across the food industry do.

Scrolling through the webpage for Aldi's spices, we see that Stonemill isn't the only private brand the grocery chain offers. Several options are available through Aldi's Simply Nature brand, of the much-loved White Cheddar Puffs, as well as many other items for the chain's more health-conscious shoppers. Simply Nature produces several other pantry essentials, all of which tout themselves as organic. Its spices also have a black lid, which may signify that they are manufactured by a company other than McCormick.

Though both lines of spices are pretty extensive, not all of Stonemill's offerings are topped with McCormick red. For example, its Everything Bagel Seasoning –- perhaps a copycat of Trader Joe's famous Everything But the Bagel seasoning –- features a black top, as do its Elote, Umami, and Nashville Hot seasonings. Though we can't know for sure, this may indicate that they are produced by a different company or facility.

McCormick wouldn't be the only well-known name behind some of Aldi's products. Several of the store's brands are rumored to be made by manufacturers who produce the same things for bigger companies. Aldi's L'Oven Fresh bakery goods, for example, are thought to be the work of Bimbo Bakeries. Its Clancy line of potato chips and snack foods are supposedly produced by Old Dutch. And fan favorite Millville cereal brand is thought to be manufactured by Malt-O-Meal, itself a subsidiary of well-known cereal brand Post. It's not unbelieveable that McCormick and Stonemill might also be manufactured and packaged at the same facility. 

The ubiquity of McCormick in your spice aisle is far from random. Based on revenue, McCormick & Company Incorporated is the world's largest spice manufacturer. It's behind other big spice and condiment brands, including Old Bay, Zatarain's, and Cholula hot sauce, which it acquired in 2020. If it has a hand in Aldi's Stonemill line of spices, that would make lots of sense.