The Big Brands That Make Trader Joe's Products - Cheddar Explains

We all love Trader Joe’s. Their fun culture, healthy vibe, and cheap private label have all helped fuel prolific growth over the past two decades. But have you ever stopped to wonder who supplies that private label? In some cases, it’s the same big brands and massive companies that you would see in any standard grocery store.
Sources:
Eater
www.eater.com/2017/8/9/160990...
Fortune
fortune.com/2017/08/10/trader...
USDA
www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/...
FDA
www.fda.gov/safety/recalls-ma...
Build a Brand Like Trader Joe’s
traderjoessecrets.blogspot.com...
FoodDive
www.fooddive.com/news/lakevie...
salsa-with-latest-acquisition-spree/544472/
CNBC
www.cnbc.com/2019/04/06/monde...
www.cnbc.com/2017/07/03/franc...
SFGate
www.sfgate.com/news/article/W...
Huffington Post
www.huffpost.com/entry/trader...
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[@Ky-xn8ud]

I worked at Trader Joe’s for two years. One time we got a case of their iced cold brew coffee without the Trader Joe’s label on them. It was Lucky Jack coffee. We got to take them home.

[@katekramer7679]

I just made the mistake of looking up Lucky Jack. Their chocolate nitro cold brew sounds amazing!

[@scottyhaines4226]

@Scott cause now she wants coffee

[@prodbyarbz]

Just from the style of the bottles I can see the similarity. This is my favorite cold brew coffee from TJ's!

[@kayaaa2686]

so i guess joe really is a trader

[@GoinGreninja]

Ba-dum-tsss

[@williambrown8249]

LE EPIC OMEGALUL

[@imcarlosjr4898]

Basically

[@user-vi4xy1jw7e]

I'm SCREAMING 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@seanc.5310]

nice 😂

[@MS-37]

All the companies do this. I’ve tried to find out who exactly makes Walmart’s great value brand. It is whoever is willing to take the lowest bid. Which I guess is the companies who already make name brand.

[@fnjesusfreak]

I know Cott used to make their pop, but no idea if that's still true.

[@thephoenix6651]

It is true a lot of brands do this , but the way Trader Joe's does it creates the illusion of it being Local , Fresh and unique using many tricks not only in their advertising but also store layouts. Trader Joe's marketing team is genius at creating the feeling of Trader Joe's being Local , fresh and unique

[@skiledR]

Prision labor

[@NickRoman]

@@thephoenix6651 , the salad greens I buy there are fresher, better quality, and cheaper than an almost comparable product at the other supermarkets near me. So, sometimes it's true.

[@thephoenix6651]

@@NickRoman yes the fresh produce there is better. I agree with you on that.

[@suzannahstulberg-rudesill8337]

I’ve been using TJ’s Tea Tree face wash for years after realizing that it was exactly the same as Desert Essence version but about $4 cheaper.

[@jarupongch]

Trader Joe's is just a fancy Aldi for me. Like literally tho since Aldi Nord owns them.

[@roberthunter5059]

Aldi South runs the Aldi stores in the US, so they're not really the same company due to their nasty "divorce".

[@Justme-ok3bf]

And in Aldi here in Belgium you can find a few Trader Joe products!! Like for example cashew nuts.

[@ScoutSniperMC]

Aldi is life. It'll be a cold day in hell before I pay some hippie branding premium for groceries.

[@ScoutSniperMC]

Softy I haven’t been to Trader Joe’s in a while, but last time I went to the one near me it was pricey as hell... Maybe things have changed since.

[@EHCBunny4real]

I always shop Trader Joe's and Aldi's for bougie party snacks when making charcuterie boards

[@ludovicoc7046]

The first rule of Trader Joe's is you do not talk about Trader Joe's.

[@wooshc]

Trader Joes is not American. It is owned by Germany (Aldi).

[@MECHOWL]

SBD More specifically, Aldi Nord (North). Aldi Süd (South) owns the Aldi stores in the US. It’s complicated, look it up

[@Jackmitchhell]

2nd rule, do not talk about Trader Joe’s.

[@brucewayne2955]

I understood that reference

[@donnerschwein]

The Aldi Nord (white logo with blue "A") family owns Trader Joes. Since Aldi Süd (dark blue background with light "A" and some yellow) runs USA stores and except from Germany they don't operate in the same country, Aldi Nord runs under the Trader Joe's brand in the US. Mind you, Nord & Süd are independent from each other, but are still family owned. But they are finally syndicating and selling the same products in Nord & Süd stores.

[@mogor123]

Thank you for writing this. I'm German as well and I'm highly amused how all the 'experts' in this video completely fail to mention the (most important) fact that Trader Joe's is actually owned by the German company ALDI North. The ALDI companies (North as well as South) have been doing this kind of relabeling for decades. It's well known and really no 'secret' or 'discovery' whatsoever. It's just their way of doing business. In fact, the thousands of ALDI South stores in the US are doing the exact same thing, which is why they are so much cheaper than Walmart etc. while having the exact same (or higher) quality products. ALDI South has been opening hundreds of new stores across the US each year for a few years now because more and more people are discovering these facts.

[@beegnome7610]

I've been noticing that more and more as of late.Which is nice because it's a lot easier to get to suburban Aldis than the local TJ's located in the trendy part of my city.

[@Bort_86]

When I was a kid, I didn’t know that Trader Joe’s was also the name of an American retailer, I only knew them because the Ice-Tea from Aldi Nord was called Trader Joe’s

[@theleader12198]

@@mogor123 Most store brands in the us do the same exact things it just repackaged products from name-brand manufacturers

[@wombatdk]

That explains why I was thinking "This sounds EXACTLY like Aldi." Because it _is_ Aldi.

[@ShirPerfection]

One other "hack" to determining who's behind some TJ products: If a product has a kosher certification, compare the certification symbols - which indicate the certifying agency - between the TJ version and the name-brand version. If the two symbols are the same, then it's a near certainty that you've found the manufacturer of the TJ version.

[@slvikingsfan]

That's not necessarily true... 3 of the biggest kosher certifications certify majority of products that are kosher, it doesnt mean much if both have the same symbol. Example: coke and Pepsi have same symbol, def not same company

[@Kenjiro5775]

There are only 11 conglomerates who provide everything there is in grocery stores.

[@cecectconnecticut344]

Kenjiro5775 interesting!

[@nickbono8]

There’s plenty of smaller ma and pa stuff you can get in more specialty grocers. But for stores like Safeway and Walmart, yeah the conglomerates provide most of that stuff.

[@amandap9332]

And when you work for conglomerates like that you can only afford to shop at conglomerates.....

[@nicknackk]

ah, late stage capitalism

[@jKLa]

No, those huge conglomerates provide most of the food in grocery stores, but definitely not everything. Far from it. There are still numerous independent food supplier companies, some large, and some smaller conglomerates as well.

[@ardonpixels1393]

So, people are discovering supermarket brands

[@stuffedsomething1699]

So true. I'm crying laughing right now, I honestly thought this practice was common knowledge.

[@Definitely_Melnyx]

Isn’t Trader Joe a discounter?

[@HakmanTim]

trader joe's is trash

[@maddox1050]

Ivel Kimber yeah i think a lot of store brands are private labeled from name brands

[@SquishyZoran]

Yep. I’m weird because I’ve noticed a few overnight pants (goodnites/drynites) and training pants are actually made by Kimberly Clark which makes the real deal. At first I noticed because the absorption and quality was way way better then some others then I found they covertly put their trademark on them so that was a cool thing to find out!

[@ArieruChan]

I figured this out myself when I bought their Autumn Harvest tea and the package was EXACTLY the same as the Celestial Seasonings brand. Which I don't mind because I love that brand haha.

[@galaxiaad]

Yep, I saw TJ's brand in the Celestial Seasonings factory tour.

[@coolnegative]

Nothing suprising here. 90 to 95 percent of ALL "store brands" are produced, packages, and shipped by big brands. Even electronics.

[@cgirl111]

Publix makes it's store brand ice cream.

[@lynda6801]

I thought everyone knew this? The reason most people go is because you get great quality food (especally organic fare) for much less than you'd pay if you bought name brand.

[@sunrae7680]

That's why I go there. I have real life issues to worry about. Many generics are made by major companies.

[@HappilyAfterEver]

I go for the vast vegan/vegetarian options there. So many things that I can’t find in my normal grocery store are all over TJ’s. Miyoko’s butter, TJ’s cream cheese, non-dairy cheddar shreds, seasoned beefless ground beef, teriyaki tofu, vegan marshmallows, etc

[@squirrelwood8008]

My experience is that the big companies want their production plants to run 24/7 to maximize efficiency. So when they don't make their own branded stuff they make off-brands for other stores like Trader Joe's. The products are pretty much the same, but the recipes are slightly different. There may be fewer ingredients and/or different composition of the spices used. Or they will use cheaper substitutes.

[@someguynamedelan]

I count my calories and scan barcodes. Sometimes you'll get the non-trader joe information when you scan it.

[@nywvblue]

That's right! The app My Fitness Pal has shared similar information! ssshhhhh haha

[@Paul_Wetor]

"Run the gambit" should be "run the gamut".

[@victorhawkins3461]

Whew! I thought I was gonna have to be the grammar police all by my lonesome! (Otherwise, it's a pretty good piece...)

[@tjs114]

Trader Joe's nut butters (peanut butter, almond butter, etc) are manufactured by ConAgra's PeterPan Peanut Butter unit. That came out a few years ago during the recalls of the bad Peanut Butter and all of Trader Joe's nut butters came out of that same plant and were recalled. I think that was 2015? Recently, I noticed some of Trader Joe's sliced breads are coming with clips and codes that match those of Lucerne Bakery- which is a Safeway brand. Specifically, the codes match those of the BusyBaker unit, which also supplies DollarTree their bread.

[@amandap9332]

Lucerne brand is what shaws (albertsons) dairy brand is.

[@Wwetitanfan27]

Are you sure? I don't buy peter pan b/c it has added crap, but TJ's is just nuts and maybe salt

[@jKLa]

@@Wwetitanfan27 well, as he says Trader Joe's sometimes asks companies to make a Trader Joe's recipe that's different from their regular one.

[@dustyoldhat]

That explains why the bread at Trader Joe's is trash

[@bleckybob]

This is why I’ve started making my own peanut butter, and, bread, butter, flour etc.

[@DJ-nn6vg]

Trader Joe’s like Costco and BJs sets their store brands to the highest brand quality not the lowest. BJs store brands knock off brands like Tide and Rao’s and are never the cheapest on the shelf. The great thing about all these stores is their 100% money back guarantee if you are dissatisfied with the products. TJs is great because the stores are small and manageable which saves lots of time. Who needs 60 different choices of ketchup anyway?

[@kaleyschuster1951]

You know, after watching this, I am not mad or disappointed at all in Trader Joe's. I am more frustrated with capitalism and companies buying companies and buying companies

[@jrmatthes7]

YES. Exactly!

[@amandap9332]

Makes you wonder what happened to our anti monopoly laws....

[@kartos.]

@@amandap9332 Lobbyists is what happened to anti monopoly laws.

[@Mekratrig]

Anothar aspect of Traders Joe that keeps people coming back - customer service. Not just the fact that the employees are ALWAYS friendly and helpful (I’m sure that’s heavily emphasized in their training), but when check out lines start getting congested, they will call more people up to man the registers, if necessary until all of them are open. That responsiveness is nowhere to be found in, say a CVS store. Am verra glad a new Traders Joe store opened up just a few miles away.

[@boldvankaalen3896]

In the past a factory sold their product under their brand name. Nowadays brands have a life of their own. I worked at factories that produced products for different brands, belonging to different companies. Brand is advertising, image and sometimes a recipe, the rest is sourced out and sometimes even the recipe is sourced out.

[@whtyc]

My Trader Joe’s is actually in this video 😂😂 I recognized it immediately. I go because they have fun stuff, it’s not overwhelming in size, and it’s inexpensive. I have no illusions about it being healthy or anything like that. I can get groceries for the week for under $50

[@Lovehandels]

I'm just going to go by my rule of thumb: If a company is being shady about their supplier I will automatically assume they are selling me my death made by children in another country's and I will judge these companies harshly!

[@TheSheiban]

I'm pretty sure that PolyMatter made a video about this a few months ago...

[@GoinGreninja]

They had.

[@sweetgoblins4679]

I'm pretty sure that no one asked you and no one cares...

[@Floedekage]

@@sweetgoblins4679 I'm pretty sure no-one has to ask for anyone's opinion in the KZbin comments.

[@enkryptron]

@@Floedekage I'm pretty sure you didn't have to answer that last comment.

[@alonknaan4536]

They did, and it is incalculably better than this one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hqvSdpxojZ2Ld9k

[@marihawley]

All I know is my tofu spring rolls disappeared and it took forever to search out that there was a listeria outbreak at the factory that made them. It shouldn't be that hard to find out about that type of info.

[@mrn234]

Maybe an problem in the US here they usually tell you in stores /TV / Radio when something has a call back cause of this or that.

[@Ellie-qq9zm]

You can ask a crew member and they will let you know if they are not re stocking the product anymore. They might mention a supplier issue. I asked when the spinach ricotta pizza stopped appearing on their shelves

[@MK-hh1vo]

The spanakopita little triangle spinach pies went missing for nearly a month. I discovered that I was addicted to this processed, mass produced product. Instead, I found a mom/pop store specializing in Mediterranean food that makes fresh pies on call. Unfortunately, TJ dropped the ball on that one for which I'm thankful! Still love TJs for everything else!

[@themonkeyhand]

This is a common practice. I work in organic/nat food distribution. Sometimes the smaller companies need a large company's equipment to produce the goods in mass.

[@greysongladney4403]

Hipsters will flip when they realize their money is still going to big corporations lol

[@bradbradlylife9918]

It's not the same It never was Don't u tell me u want a divorce We're already getting a divorce U just don't want to pay alimony

[@colintmcneill]

they won't flip because they already know that it's impossible to avoid buying from corrupt corporations in some way or another

[@PLefevre95]

Hahaha 😂

[@sasukeuchiha998]

It's like supporting Kanye. One way or another, he gets your money.

[@ericdavis6214]

Nope I save money at trader Joes so I will continue to buy there

[@theodoreolson8529]

Private label branding is a long standing practice. The interesting aspect is how the reporters put together who the suppliers were.

[@AL-E-G8TOR]

My friend just recently brought Trader Joe’s skin care “watermelon over night face mask”. It looks the same, feels the same and has the same smell as the brand glow recipe’s “watermelon glow sleeping mask”. After watching this video, I’m almost 100% positive it is the same brand just hiding their identity.

[@MrZedblade]

Trader Joe's - keep doing whatever you're doing. It's working. Shopping there is great. Prices and products are great. I don't care if much of it is relabelled major brands and it doesn't matter to me that it's kept a secret.

[@Christine-Eisen]

My personal take, I work for a bagel company in Washington state and we supplied Trader Joe’s with their bagels under their house label for several years in the western WA area. Only recently (as in at the end of 2020) as a local company I work for- we had to take a step back as Trader Joe’s weren’t willing to accommodate our price increase since the demand for flour, sugar, etc increased in the pandemic. I love fresh, quality and easy picks in their frozen aisle to their chips. But *most* baked goods tend to be from the local area surrounding that particular Trader Joe’s... so if you really like that particular brownie, bagel, etc. chances are an actual storefront/facility isn’t far and you can get that product fresher from the source.

[@Christine-Eisen]

Btw TJs orange chicken is from Panda Express

[@Breakfast_of_Champions]

It's Aldi's boutique operation.

[@mrb152]

It's not though. Trader Joes existed before it was owned by another company. The parent company saw it was a good fit for its business model already so bought it.

[@MickeyKnox]

That is Aldis policy all along - selling brand stuff under a new (own) label - they do it in Germany since forever.

[@mrn234]

or every other discounter as far as i know. The only difference is that you cant get some variations from the own label.

[@Serai3]

One thing I'm sure TJ's in nervous about now, is that they sell Sabra hummus under the TJ's brand. I figured out years ago that TJ's Pesto Tortellini Bowl is just Amy's Organic product with TJ's name slapped on it. I realized this when I noticed that the box design was EXACTLY the same, down to the colors and the font. They've since changed the box design, probably because people were noticing the similarity and asking about it.

[@MatthewUrso]

Ok? I figured everyone realized that their stuff is rebranded

[@voorachter2733]

Wait until they find out that half the stuff in Amazon is a rebrand too, let alone that even most A-brand electronics are full of parts from other suppliers.

[@PrincessAshley12]

Tomas Hollan To be fair, the rebrand is basically a lot less cheaper. This video actually convinced me to buy more stuff at Trader Joe’s, why pay more for the brand? When you can pay a lot less for the same thing? These people even pay their workers a decent salary, and there’s a lot less bs.

[@voorachter2733]

@@PrincessAshley12 in Europe it's sometimes said Aldi leaks this information on purpose to raise the value of their products

[@Alusnovalotus]

I thought that was an open secret. Money wise, it wouldn’t make sense for a big store to keep trading with small companies for ALL its products. Those small companies wouldn’t be able to cope with demand. Especially with staple groceries.

[@mdovell1]

For small appliances this is also true. I've toured factories in China. Walmart product was made next to Ronco, Target etc. They slap a name on a product. I still have the buyer catalog.

[@dustyoldhat]

no duh. walmart single-handedly destroyed the manufacturing economy in america starting in the 70s. they effectively gutted the middle class and got them to line up to trade their jobs for cheap products from china. walmart continues to prove that americans are the most stupid and gullible people on earth.

[@timmmahhhh]

When I was on Facebook Teaser Joe's created a post saying we could ask anything we want about their products. I asked if Mondelez supplied them with their Wheat Thins and Triscuit equivalents and they responded that they don't disclose their suppliers. I took that as a yes to my question. Ask anything they said, yeah right!

[@Justme-ok3bf]

They are related to Aldi because here in Belgium, you can buy a few Trader Joe items such as cashew nuts in our local Aldi!!

[@donnerschwein]

The Aldi Nord (white logo with blue "A") family owns Trader Joes. Aldi Süd (dark blue background with light "A" and some yellow) buys Trader Joe's products from Aldi Nord.

[@Justme-ok3bf]

donnerschwein interesting! At first I thought they were copying the brand here...

[@SlapstickGenius23]

Both Aldi Sud and Aldi Nord divorced because their founders were estranged siblings who’ve had a long lasting rivalry until they died.

[@bp5221]

How much beer?

[@dudmic]

Trader's Joe it's subsidiary of Aldi. Aldi's biggest competitor is Lidl, they both do the same practices, they also like to buy humongous quantities which is convenient for a producer but gives them a discount, plus not using the brand name it is also reducing costs. As for meat, diary, fruits and vegetables, they prefer local producers.

[@VintageFenrir]

I first noticed that Trader Joe's used other brands as there own when I was a kid. There was a brand of muffins my mom used to buy all the time. (I think it was Now and Zen but I could be WAY off) One day we went there, and the muffins were gone, but in their place was a Trader Joe's brand muffin that looked exactly the same, came in the same weird flavors like mango cranberry, and after trying them, tasted exactly the same.

[@LanceTruett]

I’ve never lived closer than 1-1/2 hour drive away from a TJ’s, and yet we make the monthly trip for their quality. Imma big fan.

[@JayLeePoe]

i will always love their cheap-ish goat cheese, alpine gruyere cheese bread for soups and their brownie mix... not sure what else... H-mart, H-mart, H-mart, Lotte or any other international market. Club store everything else.

[@mrb152]

I only care about quality. So long as Trader Joes makes sure the produce they contract is quality, I don't care who makes it.

[@mrb152]

​@Gringo you make produce by growing it.

[@Secretlyalittleworm]

I imagine this is exactly what Aldi and Lidl are up too

[@reidalberstone]

Why do British stores have such odd names? Aldi sounds like some Indian guy, Lidl sounds like misspelled little.

[@Verriks]

@@reidalberstone *German stores*

[@kordin113]

I believe Aldi and Traders Joe's are owned by the same company

[@Homer-OJ-Simpson]

Reid Alberstone they are German names and German stores

[@Homer-OJ-Simpson]

Trader Joe’s owners is the owner of Aldi Nord. Aldi is split into two when it was passed on the sons and they split up the word geographicallly. Aldi Sud owner was given the US so the Aldi Nord just bought another store and expanded it under a different brand. Trader Joe’s is basically copying Aldi but more upscale

[@NickRoman]

Good news. I don't care. I try stuff from Trader Joe's that looks good and then if I like it, continue to buy a lot because it's often relatively cheap and they do have stuff that I can't get in another supermarket whatever the brand. Either it's cheap, better quality, or a completely unique product and sometimes all three.

[@cylontoaster7660]

Pretty much. If Hipsters don't want to buy it because of that, great...means one less person in front of me in line lol

[@liamfitzgerald7528]

This is the standard for most retailer's private label. I work for a food manufacturer. We make store brand products for most the big national retailers.

[@matthewschauble4674]

Congrats on your video, Andrew!

[@JohnLee-ue6gy]

Happens all the time across platforms. Last summer, I noticed TGI-Friday's line in the frozen section of the local mainstream major-brand supermarket no longer carried the Southwest Egg Roll, . . . not 2 weeks later someone mentioned these great new 'house brand' Southwest Egg Rolls at ALDI. Took a look, sure enough.

[@SupremeLeaderKimJong-un]

They really need to decrease their prices to fit the needs of the proletariat

[@jacobr5627]

Or they can ration their products to prevent obesity.

[@visualonestudio]

Quiet Kim, or no more Dennis Rodman for you!

[@grayonthewater]

Aren’t you dead?

[@haebee]

this is a perfectly normal business model. i once asked a staff what some snack tasted like (i don't remember but it could've been their rice cracker) and she immediately opened it up and let me try. she said i can return anything if i'm not satisfied. they got a customer for life right there and then.

[@AMELIAANN]

I am obsessed with those dark chocolate covered pretzels and drive 30 min to Trader Joe’s to get them LOL now that I know they’re in the normal grocery store... they seem less special.... BUT HEY NOW I CAN ORDER THEM FROM TARGET 💪🏼 thanks!! 👏🏼

[@f.demascio1857]

The TJ's I shopped at in CA would sell some things under non TJ's labels, and if it wold well, they would soon introduce the TJ's version and the other would disappear. The TJ's brand was usually superior or at least novel.

[@AustrianLinuxMemer]

Trader Joe's is an Sub-Brand of Aldi Nord and in the Hofer (just a rebranded Version of the Discounter in Austria), in the fineprint stands the company who is responsible for the product

[@SWIFTO_SCYTHE]

Basically - giant corporations ruin everything. Or make them better. Whichever you prefer.

[@johnathanhelton]

Former employee. Trader Joes will contract with major brands and package under their own label. When something is being ”reformulated”, the contract has ended and another company is becoming the supplier.

[@Natak222]

hey chedder, what's the background beat that starts around 4min? huge fan, thanks

[@gio6225]

Well, that's how everything works. Because companies like Trader Joe's they secure lower prices and big companies win even more. That is the whole reason why the same company can have more than one brand, making the exact same product, but it is sold differently in order to "give the buyers a sense that they can select what they buy. But I thought this was already known.

[@Gryphonisle]

While touring Cabot Cheese’ factory in Vermont we noticed cottage cheese being put into Trader Joe’s labeled containers. TJ mayo tastes exactly like Hellman/Best Foods.

[@nomebear]

I just returned from Trader Joe's today with five specific items: Mayonnaise (made with Canola oil), salt and sugar free peanut butter, a loaf of Super bread, Joe's Os, and frozen chicken enchiladas. I have tried buying these items elsewhere but the level of quality and specific ingredients doesn't exist outside of Trader Joe's store. I also buy the pound size Belgian chocolate bars for baking, genuine French Dijon mustard, Manzanilla Spanish olives, eggplant ganoush, pickle relish, humus variety pack, and will make a selection from many of their fine imported cheese. It's not one stop shopping, but it's well worth the effort, and the staff are over the top friendly.

[@michaelsallee7534]

sometimes the only real difference between a name brand and trader joe's is the package size. thus making it unique for trader joe's (and enabling relable)

[@daveotuwa5596]

"Ex-SKU-se me, this is my spot on the shelf. You do not even belong here. Please go and stay with your assigned pack."🛒

[@JakeFields92]

I'm currently working at Trader Joe's. I get a fat discount, i dont care who's supplyin it! Can't escape it.

[@mickeygallz5483]

As someone who works in the industry I forgot this wasn't common knowledge. All generic food brands are most likely made by name brand household companies...

[@NathanDelaney]

Check the price per ounce/gram. Usually it is actually more expensive as I discovered for a marketing project vs national brands average sale price.

[@ariellemasters954]

Lots of good info. In all, we love TJ's but we wish they wouldn't put so much salt into their prepared foods, especially the frozen stuff.

[@animikean]

When did you get the footage of Encino Trader Joe’s? Last year the awning over the front was shortened due to truck hitting it and the gas station put up a fence next to the wall to surround equipment.

[@gustavmeyrink_2.0]

Here in the UK we have ALDI (who own Trader Joe's). Their own-brand ketchup is Heinz. Heinz want to keep that very quiet because a 500ml bottle of Heinz costs £2 while the same size bottle at ALDI costs £0.45.

[@ultrasoft5555]

This is like Lidl and Aldi just in US version. Part of the business model is to buy from the biggest providers, either huge corporations or maybe middle size companies who can supply one thing but in enormous quantities. Having thousands of an item in 500 stores means an overall stock & flow of millions of pieces, this can be produced only by high-tech food industry, not by "small family business".

[@maxclaymore]

I've been with Trader Joe's since opening day of the first store. I was a "Paperboy" for 'The Post Advocate' newspaper, which is no more. I read that Pronto, a store my Dad & I frequented, was now to be Trader Joe's. So I rode my bike to see for myself and vividly recall the finger food buffet and the nice older men hosting. When I returned home I was excited to tell my parents all about some erotic juice I had sampled: "Cranberry Juice!" I have never been displeased with staff or the customer originated culture. I am confident future generations will continue to benefit from Trader Joe's...

[@Jeffotos]

It’s likely the makers use store brands to cover their wholesale costs, then use their own higher priced brands to make a profit. Possibly using slightly better ingredients or finishing touches.

[@carlbowles1808]

I love trader Joe's. Now I know the rest of the story, thanks 👍💰.

[@summersalix]

Trader Joe's needs to open stores in Canada! 🍁

[@user-xg6zz8qs3q]

Yeah they should! Because Sobeys and Loblaws own the market. Price fixing is inevitable. It's REALLY REALLY bad over there.

[@summersalix]

@@user-xg6zz8qs3q yep! Lack of variety too... It's crazy the monopolies here

[@user-xg6zz8qs3q]

@@summersalix It's so fucking bad that Loblaws issued $25 gift cards to customers because they got caught for fixing the price of bread. And the price of bread stayed the same.

[@MrWalksindarkness]

i remember a couple years back trader joes sold kashi go lean crunch under the regular kashi brand name. it was cheaper at trader joes than walmart

[@craigcook9715]

I think I could ID several of the stores shown in the video. The last one shown might be on Concar Drive in San Mateo, which is the first TJs I ever shopped at, back before I moved to California, I was on a visit.

[@masterhook]

If anything knowing this makes my want to shop at there more.

[@HakmanTim]

1:06 the trader joe's expert

[@coledooley6166]

That Eater logo is fine as hell.

[@stephenkloppenburg5203]

I worked for the trucking company that took cheap grocery store brand peanut butter from factory in Vancouver, Canada, to be rebranded as trader joes - to be fair grocery store brand stuff in Canada is pretty good

[@sthubbar]

Great analysis.

[@BlindingLight]

When my family stopped going to trader joes (since we moved and the closest one was 40 minutes away), i realized that half of the stuff that has their label tastes (and probably is) exactly the same to things at places like walmart.

[@kartos.]

Hiring Rev to do your captions means SKUs get written as "skews." 😂

[@chiraldude]

The main reason I shop at Trader joe's is for prices on higher quality items. In big cities you will find upscale grocery stores that sell high quality items but at a premium price. I go to Trader Joe's because I can find similar items for much less. Also, if you are shopping for vegetarians or even vegans, it is much easier to find stuff that actually tastes good at Trader Joe's.

[@LearnAboutFlow]

While the term 'natural' is truly (and legally) meaningless, when you shop at Trader Joe's you do know nothing will have artificial sweeteners, be from concentrate (well, at least the juices), and so on. So it that sense anything you buy there is 'safe' outside of allergies (wheat, etc.) That said, Trader Joe's was MUCH cheaper prior to 2006 when it went on an expansion spree. Now, while still cheap, they are not always the cheapest and sometimes can be a lot more. You're still getting a good deal overall, but it's not like it was 1969 - 2006. And for those who don't know, Trader Joe's is owned by the German conglomerate Aldi which is also incredibly secretive and relies on private labeling for its success.

[@TheCruisinCrew]

There's some stuff in Trader Joe's that I have not been able to get in any other store... one is their Ghost Pepper Chips... as far as I know they are not available anywhere else... ;)

[@imalison]

I wanna know who makes the Burrata. So good.

[@BR-lx7py]

If only there was a TJ less than 40 mins drive from me!

[@Kampy_]

You’re gonna hate me... I live across the street from one and there’s 3-4 others within a 10m drive. LA is blanketed with TJs and they keep opening new ones

[@KeroseneSkies]

Ah this reminded me of how one of my friends worked for a cosmetics factory and told us about how the exact same formulas and makeups would be packaged under multiple different names and prices every day! It's so obvious now when you think about it but back then I wasn't sure for a while before talking to her about it.

[@dustyoldhat]

there's a sucker born every second in america

[@charisma_spigot]

New product at my local Trader Joe's : "Saddle Potato Crisps" . Packaged in the familiar cardboard cylinder with a plastic lid. Even the store employees were calling it "Pringles". I got them home and tried them. Not a 100% match for Pringles (texture is slightly different) but darn close. Procter and Gamble owns the Pringles brand and I am sure that they are very happy to get Pringles into Trader Joe's.

[@mrb152]

The chips are not nearly shaped the same. They're much close to the Lays knockoffs Stax. Pringles are perfectly stacked and nearly all identical. I can't imagine why Pringles would retool their machines to create a different shape just for TJs.

[@MarioTheGoose]

It depends on the retool. It might be a simple lever adjustment or something. But I don't think P&G's philosophy and TJ's are anywhere close. P&G is a manufacturer that is not particularly in favor of private labeling of any kind. Keeping high-value brand identity is their foundation. TraderJoes has a reputation of selling Private Label items that are a little better and at lower prices than the "Name Brands" that are sold by 3rd parties like Krogers or Albertson's.. That makes TJ's their kryptonite.. A less-brand-known and/or low cost supplier would likely more willing to stamp someone else's name their or others formulated products. I think there is a name for that in the industry but I can't say it here.

[@jcn84256]

Did this guy really say “run the gambit?”

[@pXnTilde]

Typical, tossing the pawns under the bus for the imperial elites

[@marshsundeen]

Aldi is a sister store to Trader Joe's. They sell about 1/3 of the same items as Trader Joe's. Their chips, cookies, and other items are identical (with Aldi charging at least $1.00 less).

[@michelesaudi8030]

regardless of what or who trader joes gets it's products from, their customer service is 1 of da friendliest..n da cashier's check out line runs smoothly n efficiently..n I live in NYC..they r ok by me..lol..

[@AlvaSudden]

In the Western US, Sabra hummus is the same as Trader Joe's. Also, Trader Joe's French Village Nonfat Plain yogurt (32 oz) is made by Nancy's Springfield Creamery.

[@MrBibi86]

*I wish we had the supermarkets here in Australia*

[@stevexu95]

Why am I watching this lol? I have not stepped foot inside a grocery store since 2018.

[@TheGirlGoneGreen]

Great video!

[@justingolden21]

Big brands supply products for a big supplier? No. What a surprise! In seriousness here, if they didn't use products from such huge companies, their prices would be extraordinary. There's a reason they choose low prices under false branding, and there's a reason it works. Trader Joe's has appealing prices and uniqueness.

[@davidtofer3634]

Great video! Good job!

[@MasterMiller404]

Trader Joe’s pasta and goldfish are the same as Annie’s 🐰

[@MabelDavey]

Hey, I know that trader joe's at 47 seconds. Hello White Oak/Burbank TJs!

[@Mannyr-bu7qv]

Trader Jose beer im convinced is Jalisco Estrella beer... tastes the same