Why an old documentary about Lidl has taken Netflix by storm

24 Hours In Lidl has become a surprise Netflix hit

The UK’s contribution to Netflix’s return to form this year has been a proud if surprising spread of hits. Baby Reindeer, an improbable global smash based on a stand-up comedy show about rape and stalking; Eric, a dark and tortured drama about child prostitution, police corruption and addiction in 1980s New York starring Benedict Cumberbatch and, of course, 24 Hours in Lidl, currently number three in the Netflix UK’s film chart, beating Jodie Comer’s acclaimed drama The End We Start From and Hit Man, by one of America’s greatest directors, Richard Linklater.

Just to be clear, 24 Hours in Lidl isn’t an artfully named thriller like Dog Day Afternoon where shoppers are held hostage in the pet food aisle, or a martial arts action pic like Rush Hour where Jackie Chan and a dour store manager battle shoplifter after shoplifter as they line up for a pasting. It is a one-off Channel 5 documentary following an average 24 hours at the supermarket chain. Indeed, at 43 minutes long it’s stretching it to even call it a film. It’s more of an episode.

Social media users have expressed surprise – including the film’s director Dominic Callaghan, who posted “Move over Marvel: No.2 in the Netflix film charts this week 24 hours in Lidl. It’s a high-adrenaline rollercoaster ride through the middle aisle of Lidl. Remarkable!” How on earth did this happen?

Ed Taylor, executive producer at the film’s production company Honeybee Media, has a theory. It’s the ultimate comfort TV, he says.

“There are so many shifting things in our lives – eight prime ministers, losing celebrity doctors, nothing feels fixed and more,” he argues. “People grasp for anchor points that are not going anywhere and are part of their lives. It’s very reassuring to watch the bread being baked and delivered to the supermarket – it’s almost like a kid’s story. It makes something that’s familiar seem even more familiar.”

Taylor’s company was commissioned to make a series of one-off films on the UK’s supermarkets and high street chains by Channel 5 – there’s Costco at Christmas; 24 Hours in Tesco, Aldi, Lidl and Waitrose; How Do They Really Do It? Costa; and Grace Dent’s double-header Inside Greggs 24/7 and Greggs: What’s Really in It? These went out as one-offs at 7pm on Channel 5 and the rights returned to Honeybee who sold the shows on to Netflix. Costco at Christmas and 24 Hours in Tesco both did well, but Lidl hit the top 10 in the first week of release.

Is Netflix’s fiendish algorithm – the tech that won’t stop recommending, say, Emily In Paris after you clicked on it once by accident – to blame for the film’s sudden success? One company insider insists not. “Look, no-one has yet invented an algorithm that can make people watch crap they don’t want to,” he said. “Basically if people start to watch a show and it looks like it’s popping, the algo picks that up and pushes it out there but it is purely audience-led.” (The same insider, however, has no idea why Netflix considers 24 Hours in Lidl a film.)

Tom Harrington, analyst at Enders Analysis, says that the film’s success is not an isolated incident. “Rich House Poor House from Channel 5 was very high up in the charts a few weeks ago,” he explains. “It’s akin to YouTube where things

get virality – intense viewing at particular times. Netflix acquisitions are actually very well-targeted these days. They used to buy loads of stuff which would disappear but gradually they’re buying fewer shows and choosing the ones they know they’re going to do well as they learn what works on the platform – which isn’t the same as what works in linear TV. There is method behind the acquisition.”

Disappointingly if unsurprisingly, 24 Hours in Lidl is not a global smash like Baby Reindeer even if one of its contributors, the stand-up comic Olaf Falafel took to social media to crow “Move over Baby Reindeer!” after the film first hit number two.

24 Hours in Lidl currently sits at number 3 in Netflix's top 10 films – beating movies from Jodie Comer and Richard Linklater

“I only agreed to feature on the documentary because it’s actually a supermarket that I do regularly shop in,” Falafel told the Telegraph. “When my shopping list is bread, milk, some jump leads, a rugby ball and a kayak, it’s always my first port of call.”

His discussion of radishes in Luton will not be seen in Germany, home to the name Olaf, or Egypt, home of the falafel as the film has only been sold to Netflix UK.

Over here, the film’s prominence has doubtless been helped by a rash of stories in tabloid and regional press which sidle up to customers and yell headlines like “Lidl customers warned over clever trick in every store that could make them spend more,” and “Lidl worker shares best time of day to get even bigger bargains.”

In part, this is down to the extended interview with a former assistant manager Roo Dhissou who tells the director that the best time to shop at Lidl is between 4-5pm. Staff have set points in the day to check shelves, refill them and mark prices down “so you’ll be able to get them before they go back out onto the shelves,” she explains. Lidl prices are “not marked down on the day like other supermarkets, they’re marked down two days before, generally.” Catherine Shuttleworth, a marketing consultant for the supermarket, adds: “First day it’s 30 per cent reduced, by the second day it goes down to 60 per cent.”

There’s also the reveal from Dr Amna Khan, a retail expert, who says Lidl’s trick of putting the price of an item above rather than below the shelf helps confuse customers over prices and encourage them to put stuff into baskets thinking they’re cheaper than they really are.

“Everybody is trying to save money and supermarkets are constantly running these complicated pricing situations – the Aldi price match or Tesco club card,” Taylor argues. “There are so many complicated variations about finding the best deal and the best produce and people like to feel savvy with advice from the horse’s mouth and there’s a lot of ex-employees out there.” All of which suggests Netflix might be wise to stop spending untold millions on prestige dramas and Oscar-bait films and churn out endless consumer advice shows instead. Anne Robinson’s agent should get on the phone.

Sign up to the Front Page newsletter for free: Your essential guide to the day's agenda from The Telegraph - direct to your inbox seven days a week.