The Brand Behind Aldi's Gigantic Bavarian Pretzel

When you're out for dinner and spot "giant Bavarian pretzel" on the menu, you know you're in for a treat. The salty, doughy appetizers are typically comically large and displayed in one interesting manner or another, often dangling from a hook to show off the massive surface area. If you're searching for the joys of a buttery Bavarian pretzel that puts American varieties to shame from the comfort of your living room, you can always try the frozen "beast" of a Bavarian pretzel from Aldi.

Aldi sells a gigantic pretzel known as "The Bavarian Beast" from the Milwaukee Pretzel Company. With a name like that, expectations are high for an out-of-this-world pretzel, and according to satisfied customers, those expectations have been exceeded. "This is the best store bought pretzel available," said one customer on Reddit, while another agreed that it's "soooo delicious." The pretzel weighs a whopping one pound and claims to be enough food to feed between three to six people, but plenty of customers admitted that they finished the soft pretzel all by themselves.

The Milwaukee Pretzel Company was founded in 2013 after owners Matt and Katie Wessel spent a year in Munich, Germany, and fell head-over-heels in love with Bavarian-style pretzels. The couple began testing recipes in a home kitchen before renting a space at a bakery to make small batches and eventually running their first booth at Milwaukee's Germanfest festival. From here, the business steadily built a following, wholesaling to local customers and expanding to other states in 2015 thanks to Greco Foods and U.S. Foods. In 2016, the company started shipping frozen pretzels directly to customers and in 2020 Milwaukee Pretzel Company's products found their way to frozen supermarket shelves across the country.

Besides the beloved "Bavarian Beast," the company also sells Bavarian soft pretzel twists, Bavarian soft pretzel nuggets, pretzel hamburger buns, and more. There are even Bavarian pretzel sausage buns, perfect for pairing with a variety of German bratwursts. The Milwaukee Pretzel Company sells its own dips and toppings such as hot honey mustard and spicy bier cheese, a popular pretzel pairing that's more complex than you might expect. Although it's available at most Aldi locations, you can also find the "Bavarian Beast" at Kroger, Amazon, or other local grocery stores, since the brand wholesales nationwide.