• I tried a few pies from Aldi's Mama Cozzi's label to see which frozen pizzas are the best.
• Each Mama Cozzi's pizza was tasty, but I was disappointed by the tavern-style extra-loaded supreme.
• The rising-crust four-cheese pie would've been my fave if I hadn't had the stone-baked veggie pizza.

Frozen pizza can be an easy, budget-friendly meal — but it doesn't need to taste as cheap as it sounds.

Fortunately, Aldi offers an array of budget-friendly frozen options under its Mama Cozzi's label that cost less than $10 each. With so many varieties (including seasonal flavors), it can be tough to figure out which are worth buying.

So, I tried six frozen pizzas from Aldi and ranked them from my least favorite to my top pick. Here's how they stacked up.

Mama Cozzi's tavern-style extra-loaded supreme pizza sounded promising.

With "extra-loaded" in the name, I was expecting to be impressed.

The thin-crust pie is topped with bell peppers, Italian sausage, red onion, pepperoni, and mushrooms.

When I removed this pizza from the box, though, it looked like it was only topped with cheese. Upon closer inspection, I saw a smattering of toppings buried beneath the shreds. I was curious to see how it'd cook.

This pizza cost me $5.49, and serves five.

I was quite confused by this pie.

The photo on the box didn't look anything like my final pizza.

Once cooked, the toppings were nearly invisible aside from a few peppers and pepperoni pieces sticking out on the edges.

The cheese got wonderfully golden, but the peppers and meat pieces below it didn't crisp up much. All in all, this pizza had a decent flavor, but not enough toppings.

This was still better than frozen pizzas I've tried from many other brands, but it was my least favorite of the group.

Mama Cozzi's French-bread pepperoni pizza was pretty affordable.

The Mama Cozzi's French-bread pepperoni pizza is made with mozzarella and topped with pepperoni.

I paid only $2.79 for a box with two pieces; each is one serving.

This was great, but I'm not sure it hits my craving for pizza.

This felt more like a toasted, open-faced pepperoni sandwich than a pizza. The bread was crunchy, but I found myself missing a more typical crust.

Plus, this seemed to have far less cheese than any other pizzas I tried. I could see way too much of the sauce peeking through the layer of shredded mozzarella.

Still, I enjoyed eating this and thought the pepperoni (made with pork, beef, and chicken) tasted exceptionally good.

I was quite confident that I'd enjoy the original thin supreme pizza.

For what it's worth, I lived on the Mama Cozzi's original thin-crust pizzas throughout the pandemic. These cost a little more now than in 2021, but they're still a great value at $3.19 for a pie that serves three.

For this taste test, I tried the supreme variety, which comes with sausage, pepperoni, green peppers, and onion.

There were loads of toppings on this pizza.

This pizza was pretty impressive as it seemed loaded with all of the aforementioned toppings. Each bite seemed to have pepperoni or sausage.

The cracker-like crust wasn't anything to write home about in terms of flavor, but it was the perfect crunchy conduit for the toppings.

The Mama Cozzi's flatbread pizza with pepperoni and mozzarella had potential.

Flatbread pizzas can be hit or miss. Sometimes their crusts get soggy or too crisp, but they can be delicious when done well.

This rectangular flatbread pizza from Mama Cozzi's that I tried is made with both sliced and diced pepperoni, plus fresh mozzarella.

It cost me $4.79 and comes with two servings.

I found myself pleasantly surprised by this offering.

I was pleasantly surprised by my very first bite. The crust was buttery and flaky in a light, airy, beautiful way.

The ratio of cheese to meat seemed well-balanced, and the different pepperoni cuts helped the toppings feel more evenly distributed.

The rectangular shape made the pizza fairly easy to eat, which I also liked. All in all, this pizza was delicious.

The rising-crust four-cheese pizza seemed like it was going to be a bit overwhelming.

The most indulgent pizza of them all seemed to be the Mama Cozzi's four-cheese pizza with a rising crust described as "fluffy" and "full."

Toppings include Asiago, Parmesan, Romano, and mozzarella, and in terms of ounces, this pizza was the heaviest.

It cost me $4.19 and has six servings.

Its crust was indeed fluffy and full.

As essentially promised by the box, the crust was the softest and most pillowy of the pies on this list.

I tasted notes of each individual cheese atop a slightly sweet red sauce. Parmesan and Asiago added a nice variety of salty flavors to the pie.

Plus, I found it incredibly filling — after two slices, I was satisfied.

It was fantastic, even eaten cold and leftover, the next day. This would've been my favorite if not for one dark horse.

The Mama Cozzi's stone-baked veggie pizza caught me by surprise.

The Mama Cozzi's stone-baked veggie pizza with an Italian crust seemed loaded with red onion, spinach, grilled peppers, and grilled zucchini.

I wasn't super excited to try it since I really enjoy meat and was a bit turned off by how little mozzarella appeared to be on the pie based on the photo on the box.

I paid $3.99 for the pizza, which contains four servings.

I wasn't expecting this pie to be my favorite.

I was skeptical at first, but this pizza blew me away.

There was so little sauce that I barely noticed it, but I didn't find I actually needed or wanted more. The pizza wasn't dry, and I liked that the vegetables on top were spread to the edge of the crust.

The crust tasted buttery — though not as buttery as the flatbread's — and was very flavorful with Italian herbs and a crunchy yet fluffy texture.

This pizza's toppings were the tastiest and most colorful. With so many textures and flavors, the slight lack of cheese didn't bother me after all.

All in all, this pizza was my top pick.

This story was originally published on June 3, 2025, and most recently updated on April 24, 2026.

• My family and I tried and ranked plain Greek yogurt from four grocery stores.
• My daughter and I thought Trader Joe's Greek nonfat yogurt had an odd flavor.
• The organic plain nonfat Greek yogurt from Wegmans was our winner.

I feel like I'm always buying Greek yogurt for my family, and even though we have our favorites, I like to switch things up every once in a while.

So, I decided to see how the store-brand versions from Trader Joe's, Whole Foods, Costco, and Wegmans compare. To find out, I bought the most basic plain Greek yogurt I could find at each store and sampled them without any toppings.

Here's how they stacked up, from worst to best.

Trader Joe's nonfat plain Greek yogurt had a nice consistency.

I liked that Trader Joe's option didn't have the ubiquitous pool of milky whey that sometimes settles on top of yogurt when I open it. The yogurt seemed to have a nice, medium-thick consistency.

At $5.50, the 32-ounce tub of Greek yogurt was the least expensive of the four brands I tried.

The yogurt was creamy but a bit too tangy for my taste.

Sadly, I thought this yogurt had an intensely tangy, almost sour flavor.

Because of its standout creaminess, though, I'd like to try the store's other varieties of flavored Greek yogurt next time.

The Greek yogurt from Whole Foods was the most expensive option.

At $6.70, this 32-ounce tub was the most expensive yogurt I tried. When I opened the container, the yogurt looked creamy and smooth.

The 365 Greek yogurt tasted mildly sweet, with no tanginess.

The 365 Greek yogurt tasted fresh and was well-balanced — mildly sweet and not too tangy or tart.

I'd likely use this yogurt in one of my smoothies, as I don't feel it would alter the taste, but would add a nice boost of protein.

The Kirkland Signature organic plain Greek yogurt from Costco was the best bang for my buck.

The $6 Kirkland Signature organic nonfat Greek yogurt came in a 48-ounce tub.

On a cost-per-ounce basis, it was the best value of the varieties I tried. The entire tub was cheaper than the 365 organic yogurt from Whole Foods — and contained 16 more ounces.

The Kirkland Signature yogurt would make a great base for fruit or granola.

The Kirkland Signature yogurt was rich and full-bodied, with just enough tartness to give it some depth.

I appreciated that this yogurt, though less dense than the others, didn't have a puddle of whey at the top. It seemed like an ideal base for fruit, granola, or other add-ins.

Finally, I tried Wegmans' organic nonfat plain Greek yogurt.

The 32-ounce tub of organic Greek yogurt from Wegmans cost $6 — a pleasant surprise, as I thought it would be more expensive.

Some whey floated at the top of the yogurt, but only creamy goodness remained once I dumped it out.

Overall, the yogurt from Wegmans was my favorite.

This Greek yogurt was creamy and smooth with the slightest tang, making it a solid base for add-ins. I think its light consistency would also be ideal to use in recipes.

Notably, this yogurt had the most sugar (7 grams) of all four options I tried. My daughter also liked it the most, so I plan on packing it in a container with some toppings for her lunch.

I liked this yogurt so much that I'm permanently keeping it in my refrigerator. The next time we need Greek yogurt, I'll reach for this one from Wegmans.

This story was originally published on June 9, 2024, and most recently updated on March 24, 2026.

• Coca-Cola and Svedka are using AI to enhance holiday and Super Bowl ads, speeding up content creation.
• Companies like Mondelēz and Blue Chip use AI to test concepts, saving time and improving strategies.
• The tech can help CPG firms work faster, but risks include AI slop in campaigns.

Coca-Cola's holiday ad and Svedka's Super Bowl commercial share more in common than promoting a beverage — both were generated with the help of AI.

The technology is catching on at consumer goods companies, with marketing leaders adding AI to their processes on both the creative and strategic sides.

As a result, assets and campaigns are coming to fruition faster than they could without AI.

Before AI, it could take Mondelēz International up to 10 weeks — from concept to production — to spin up a six- to eight-second social media video for its Chips Ahoy! character "Chip," said Jennifer Mennes, VP and global head of digital marketing and strategy at Mondelēz International.

Now, the marketing team can prompt AI and create a video in less than five minutes. After various checks by human members of the team, the total process might take days.

The biggest opportunities aren't necessarily in "big flashy campaigns," like Super Bowl spots, Mennes said. Instead, AI is helping CPGs quickly produce a greater volume of text, headlines, social content, and lifestyle imagery. As firms pump out more content, they could risk putting out AI slop and turning off consumers with AI-generated material. But so far, the efficiency gains are proving worthwhile as companies and agencies save weeks of time, especially on high-volume work and strategy.

"It doesn't seem that exciting," Mennes said. "But it's actually driving impact."

Testing and learning with AI

AI can play a role in parts of the marketing process that are invisible to consumers, such as idea generation. Johnny Rohrbach, founder of global partnerships and operations at Silverside AI, said marketing teams and their partners can "come up with different directions until the cows come home." His AI lab works with several CPGs, including Coca-Cola, on its holiday campaigns.

Focus group testing is another AI use case. Sonja Evans, VP of business intelligence and strategy at Blue Chip Marketing Worldwide, said her agency partners with Waldo.fyi, an AI company, to create digital twins of a brand's target consumers, using detailed demographics and purchase history. The team then presents creative ideas to this synthetic audience.

"We can talk to them just like we would be talking to a consumer," Evans said. Based on the feedback, the agency whittles down the ideas before presenting them to real consumers. The feedback from digital and virtual consumers "is shockingly similar," she said.

Blue Chip — which has worked on campaigns for Bob's Red Mill, Emerald Nuts, and Panera Bread — also uses AI to create what's known as a boardomatic. This is essentially an animated version of a spot with voiceover, script, and motion, but without the time, costs, or hired talent needed for a shoot.

The agency can test multiple animated spots with consumers to gauge their reactions "before we even spend a dollar on production," Evans said. The agency then uses the feedback to decide which version goes into full production.

Avoiding the trap of AI slop

Today, consumers demand more content, creating a cycle in which brands must appear in their feeds more often to stay top of mind, Rohrbach said. Marketing budgets don't always expand to keep pace with consumer trends. He added that AI can help bridge the gap, allowing marketing teams to do more with the money they're allocated.

There's a fine line when it comes to volume, though.

"If the spots feel like garbage and if you're just pumping out content because you can, then you're going to turn off the consumer," Mennes said, adding that a human is always in the loop at Mondelēz. The CPG company sees AI as additive and enhancing how it already connects with consumers, not replacing workflows.

"Nothing goes into the market without rigorous approval," Mennes said.

For food brands, especially, imagery needs to look real and authentic, Evans said. "People are very quick to call out when something looks AI."

Consumers have blasted brands for AI slop, with many criticizing AI-generated Super Bowl ads as uninspired or low-quality. Rohrbach, whose AI lab partnered with Svedka parent company Sazerac to produce its AI Super Bowl spot, said brands need to ensure they're not putting out content that's irrelevant, poorly executed, or "a little bit tone deaf." His lab's Coca-Cola holiday ad was among the spots that drew criticism, but he said the ad performed "exceptionally well" according to internal and external testing.

The strong performance may have been partly driven by the attention it received for using AI, even though social media sentiment was largely negative. In fact, the spot was the most talked-about Christmas ad of 2025.

"I'm super proud of that ad," Rohrbach said. He added that Coca-Cola is "very much on the vanguard" of AI experimentation, and CPGs as a whole are embracing the technology due to the high demand for content.

In fact, a BCG study from February found that seven in 10 CPG marketing leaders expect GenAI to help them work faster — although only 13% said the tech is fully integrated into marketing workflows. The report said the figures point to a maturity gap. Evans said bigger brands may have larger budgets to experiment with AI, while midmarket companies are contending with tariff and inflation pressures, making them more focused on business goals than on AI experimentation.

Mennes said major CPGs are "well on their journey" and "rapidly embracing this space." Plus, she's noticed a change among her CPG peers. For the first time in her career, they're cross-sharing ideas, comparing challenges related to hallucinations, and gut-checking solutions with one another.

"It's actually refreshing," Mennes said. "If we can help each other out on that, it just accelerates our ability to transform our organizations."