I kind of have a Love/Hate relationship with Trader Joe's.
Love:
-The orange chicken (I mean, come on..who doesn't?)
-The panda/monkey/whale they hide so my kids are entertained.
-The cheese case (good prices, don't you think?)
-The nori seaweed snacks (Thrifty Tip - Asia Mart sells them as well and they are way cheaper).
Hate:
-The produce that's wrapped in all that plastic. And doesn't it seem like TJ's produce goes bad super quick?
-The sushi ('nuff said).
-The checkers that are seemingly required by their managers to ask you "So what did you do this weekend?" or "Got any exciting vacations planned?" or "What do you have planned for the rest of this sunny/rainy/foggy day?" (come on...do you REALLY care that I'm heading to Costco after to buy toilet paper and then I've got an exciting afternoon of laundry folding planned?)
I do find it interesting that they use suppliers who are well known, but use their own packaging. I stumbled across a blog that listed a few of the Trader Joe's brands uncovered. I'm sure there are a lot more that could be added to the list and am not sure if the list is 100% accurate, but you can check out the blog post HERE to read more.
| Trader Joe’s Branded Product | Supplier Branded Product |
| Trader Joe’s Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips | Callebaut Chocolate |
| TJ’s White Baking Chips | Guittard Baking Chips |
| Trader Joe’s Vienna Style Lager | Gordon Biersch Marzen |
| Trader Joe’s Vintage Ale | Unibroue |
| Trader Joe’s Mission St. Pale Ale | Firestone Walker |
| Trader Joe’s Mission St.IPA | Firestone Walker |
| Trader Jose Beer | Tecate Brewery |
| Trader Jo’es Bottled Water | Poland Springs |
| Trader Joe’s Sprouted Wheat Bread | Alvarado Street Bakery |
| Trader Joe’s Newton’s Folly Cider | Woodchuck Cider |
| Trader Joe’s Granny Smith | Woodchuck Cider |
| Trader Joe’s Goddess Dressing | Annie’s Naturals |
| Trader Joe’s Organic Ranch Dressing | Earth Island Products |
| Trader Joe San’s Soyaki | Soy Vay’s Veri Veri Teriyaki |
| Trader Joe’s European style Yogurt | Strauss Family Creamery |
| Trader Joe’s Indian food | Tasty Bite |
| Trader Joe’s Shells and Cheese | Annie’s Homegrown |
| Trader Joe’s Frozen Spinach pizza | Amy’s Kitchen |
| Trader Joe’s Pizza Dough | Il Fornaio |
| Trader Joe’s Pita Chips | Stacy’s Pita Chips |
| Trader Joe’s Pure Butter Shortbread | Walker’s Shortbread |
| TJ’s Veggie Sticks Potato Snacks | Good Health Natural Foods Veggie Stix |
TJ's Organic Chicken Broth Pacific Natural Foods
Another addition (thanks Carly!)
TJ's Organic Milk Clover
5 comments:
We still have not tried the orange chicken! and yes! their produce goes bad sooo fast! esp. the bag of mixed salad greens!
I understood it's different everywhere depending on which part of the country the TJ is. Looks like the list you have is for TJ's in our area.
However, I also noticed that sometimes these companies make something just for TJ. Example: the tortillas come from Tortilla factory. While the corn tortillas from TJ have just corn meal, the ones Tortilla factory sells have also wheat in them.
There was a very interesting article about TJ bout their corporate structure to. The company is owned by a German family, who also owns the Aldi -> a chain of stores my family shops at in Netherlands ;)
Jessica - don't try the orange chicken, or you'll crave it...and all it is is deep fried naughtiness!
Mirjam - Interesting! I do feel there is a European influence in a lot of the products they offer.
One more for you...In Napa the Trader Joes Organic milk is Clover brand.
~Carly
Oh man i agree with your love hate relationship with TJ's. HATE all the packaging and detest that they are rotten by the time you get home. I LOVE all the snacks!
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