Wirecutter's Guide to Shopping at Trader Joe's

Summary

The Wirecutter Show

Episode: Wirecutter’s Guide to Shopping at Trader Joe’s

Date: September 10, 2025
Hosts: Kyra Blackwell, Rosie Guerin
Guest: Anthra Sinha (Associate Staff Writer, Wirecutter Kitchen Team)

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Overview

In this episode, Kyra Blackwell and Rosie Guerin are joined by Anthra Sinha from the Wirecutter Kitchen Team for an in-depth guide to shopping at Trader Joe’s. The conversation explores the cult status of Trader Joe’s, its unique business model, how its products are selected and tested, and Wirecutter’s own rigorous taste-testing results for the store’s best offerings. The episode is packed with smart shopping tips, product recommendations, and a live taste test of top picks.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Why Focus an Entire Guide on Trader Joe’s?

• Trader Joe’s as an Exception:
  Unlike Wirecutter’s usual approach, focusing on a single store was justified due to Trader Joe’s national reach, obsessive fan base, and distinct, focused product selection.

  “They do kind of inhabit this very unique spot… introducing a lot of folks to new flavors, international cuisines, and that feels very kind of unique.”
  — Anthra Sinha [06:03]

Trader Joe’s Shopping Experience

• Limited Selections, Curated Shelves:
  Unlike other supermarkets with overwhelming choices, Trader Joe’s curates its options — you get one spaghetti, not ten.

  “Trader Joe’s whole business model really relies on: we have one spaghetti and this is the spaghetti that you have to get.”
  — Anthra Sinha [07:21]

• Intentional Store Design:
  The layout, shelf height, and even building choices support a local, community-focused ambiance.

  “They really want Trader Joe’s to feel like your local market and a place where you’re a regular…”
  — Anthra Sinha [10:29]

History and Ownership

• Origins:
  Founded by Joe Coulombe in the 1960s to serve “the over educated and underpaid.”

  “His whole ethos was to sell food for the over educated and underpaid, which is a very loaded phrase…”
  — Anthra Sinha [08:33]

• Current Ownership:
  Now owned by Aldi Nord (a branch of the German Aldi supermarket chain), but operates mostly independently.

  “It’s owned not by the Aldi that we’re familiar with… It’s owned by Aldi Nord…”
  — Anthra Sinha [09:43]

Business Model Deep Dive

• Private Label/Co-Packing Model:
  Nearly 80% of products are Trader Joe’s branded but manufactured by outside companies (private- or white-labeling), keeping prices low and bypassing costly slotting fees.

  “That’s how Trader Joe’s actually also makes things so cheap — majority of their stuff is in house, in house in labeling, but the food is coming from other manufacturers.”
  — Anthra Sinha [12:56]

• Slotting Fees Explained:
  Regular stores charge brands hefty fees for shelf space, costs which TJ’s avoids entirely due to their private label model.

  “Because products for Trader Joe’s are private labeled, there’s no slotting fee. That keeps the cost down.”
  — Anthra Sinha [15:06]

• Product Discontinuation as Strategy:
  Rapid product turnover keeps inventory costs low and shoppers intrigued, encouraging regular visits.

  “With that rapid turnover, it also keeps folks coming back because there is the sort of feeling of intrigue, of discovery every time you walk into the store.”
  — Anthra Sinha [16:30]

Dealing with Seasonality & Discontinuations

• Pro Tip:
  For beloved staple items, stock up when available.

  “For something that’s sort of like a frozen item, you should just stock up when you see it.”
  — Anthra Sinha [17:47]

• Explore Beyond TJ’s for International Foods:
  Many "international" items at Trader Joe’s can often be found in greater variety and authenticity at local specialty markets.

  “If you love something enough… check out those other places… if you go to an H Mart, there’s ten types of frozen kimbap.”
  — Anthra Sinha [18:54]

Transparency on Suppliers

• How to Uncover Product Origins:
  Food recalls are one of the rare ways to track down Trader Joe’s suppliers.

  “If there’s a recall… for that same potato chip, you can kind of make the educated guess that they’re coming from the same manufacturer.”
  — Anthra Sinha [27:58]

  “An important distinction:… these big suppliers will tweak their ingredients for Trader Joe’s, so it’s not quite as easy as a one to one comparison.”
  — Anthra Sinha [28:44]

The Great Wirecutter Taste Test

• Selection Process:

  • Focused on year-round, non-perishable items (mainly frozen foods, snacks, and baked goods).
  • Skipped ingredients like butter or ketchup that Wirecutter independently reviews elsewhere.

  “We also chose not to test fresh and fresh prepared products because there’s so much store to store variant...”
  — Anthra Sinha [22:18]

• Taste Test Logistics:

  • Eight staffers, five days, grouped tests by product type (cheeses, frozen snacks, etc.)
  • Aimed for a diversity of perspectives, from single shoppers to parents.

  “We had a wide range of perspectives… the convenience foods I gravitate toward are different from an editor… who has kids…”
  — Anthra Sinha [24:17]

• Surprising Consensus:
  Despite differing tastes, the team largely agreed on best products based on flavor, value, versatility, and would-you-make-a-special-trip-for-it?

  “Despite everyone’s sort of varied palates… we were all able to come together to a consensus on most items.”
  — Anthra Sinha [25:04]

• Top Picks:

  • Unexpected Cheddar (noted for value and taste)
  • Chocolate Cake (irresistible, even for those not typically into sweets)
  • Frozen Kimbap (vegan, convenient, and versatile)
  • Rolled Chili Lime Tortilla Chips (Trader Joe’s version of Takis — crowd favorite)

• Not a Winner:

  • Truffle Mousse Pate (“gritty” and unanimously disliked)

    “It was… gritty. Unanimously we were all not a fan.”
    — Anthra Sinha [26:24]

Live Taste Test (32:00–34:50)

• Frozen Kimbap:

  • Positive remarks on convenience, flavor, and texture.

    “It kind of feels like a whole lunch in one tiny snack. You get a little rice, you get a little veggie, you get quote unquote meat.”
    — Kyra Blackwell [32:26]

  • Hot tip: Pan fry in egg for an even better meal.

    “Take these while they’re frozen, roll them in some whisked egg and then pan fry them — it makes it even more of a complete meal.”
    — Anthra Sinha [32:35]

• Rolled Chili Lime Tortilla Chips:

  • Loved for their generous seasoning and snackability.

    “You get so much of the seasoning on it… It’s just coated. Dredged in chili lime.”
    — Rosie Guerin [33:38]

Inclusivity for Dietary Restrictions

• The tasting and guide specifically call out gluten-free, dairy-free, kosher, and vegan recommendations.

  “We made an effort to really call out dietary restrictions in the guide as well.”
  — Anthra Sinha [30:26]

Fun Moments & Memorable Quotes

• On why people love TJ's:

  “Maybe Cult is a little too strong, but there's definitely a Trader Joe's hive.”
  — Rosie Guerin [01:36]

• On favorite TJ’s products:

  “Their Chipwich? Excellent.”
  — Anthra Sinha [29:32]

• On discontinued favorites:

  “If you cut my rose toner, I'm going to lose it.”
  — Kyra Blackwell [16:19]

Behind the Scenes: Could This Guide Happen for Costco?

• Hosts and Anthra joke about the massive, multi-part undertaking that a similar review of Costco would require.

  “You would need like a 10 part series for that.”
  — Kyra Blackwell [34:46]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Trader Joe’s Appeal & Background — [06:03–10:29]
• Ownership & Aesthetic — [08:33–10:06]
• Business Model & Private Labeling Explained — [12:24–16:30]
• Shopping Strategies & Taste-Test Process — [17:47–25:02]
• Transparency, Recalls, and Supplier Sleuthing — [27:29–28:44]
• Top Picks & Taste Test — [29:20–34:50]
• Final Thoughts and Takeaways — [35:49–37:18]

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For Further Reading

• Full Guide: [Wirecutter’s Favorite Things from Trader Joe’s] (referenced in episode intro/outro)
• Supplier Investigation: Eater’s 2017 reporting on Trader Joe’s recalls and private label sourcing

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Final Takeaways

• Trader Joe’s stands out for its affordable, private-labeled, tightly curated selection and playful, “discovery-driven” shopping experience.
• Seasonal churn keeps shopping exciting but makes stocking up a must for favorites.
• Many international-inspired Trader Joe’s products can be found at local ethnic grocery stores, often offering even more variety.
• Wirecutter’s panel-based, cross-lifestyle taste testing delivers real-world, practical picks covering a spectrum of dietary needs.

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Notable Quotes

• “Trader Joe’s whole business model really relies on: we have one spaghetti and this is the spaghetti that you have to get.”
  — Anthra Sinha [07:21]

• “Because products for Trader Joe’s are private labeled, there’s no slotting fee. That keeps the cost down.”
  — Anthra Sinha [15:06]

• “With that rapid turnover, it also keeps folks coming back because there is the sort of feeling of intrigue, of discovery every time you walk into the store.”
  — Anthra Sinha [16:30]

• “You get so much of the seasoning… this is just coated. Dredged in chili lime.”
  — Rosie Guerin [33:38]

---

Summary

This episode offers a practical, enthusiastic, and highly informative guide to navigating Trader Joe’s, blending behind-the-scenes business insights with hands-on product recommendations. Wirecutter’s unique, methodical approach ensures listeners know both what’s special about Trader Joe’s and exactly what’s worth seeking out on their next snack run.

Transcript

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[Anthra Sinha]

The whole tiki vibe was very intentional and was there, like from the founding, he wanted to feel like a trading post, which if you're from the west coast, there is a very specific west coast trading post where stuff would come from the east and would be repackaged and sold to folks in California.

[Christine Cyr Clisette]

I'm Christine Cyr Clisette.

[Kyra Blackwell]

I'm Kyra Blackwell.

[Rosie Guerin]

I'm Rosie Guerin and you're listening to the Wirecutter Show.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Hi, Rosie.

[Rosie Guerin]

Hey, Kyra.

[Kyra Blackwell]

So it's a bit weird, but Cristine actually isn't with us today.

[Rosie Guerin]

I miss her.

[Kyra Blackwell]

I know.

[Rosie Guerin]

But it's nice to be with you.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yeah, we're going to have a fun one today.

[Rosie Guerin]

Why?

[Kyra Blackwell]

Because today we are talking about one of my favorite stores, at least for snacks and, I don't know, frozen foods.

[Rosie Guerin]

Trader Joe's. Love it.

[Kyra Blackwell]

I'm actually embarrassed about how much I love Trader Joe's.

[Rosie Guerin]

You're not alone. I mean, maybe Cult is a little too strong, but there's definitely a Trader Joe's hive.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yeah, we love it.

[Rosie Guerin]

If you love it, you seem to really, really love it.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yeah. So we really wanted to stress that Wirecut usually does not do this. We're not big fans of recommending one store or gush about one place, but TJ's is kind of its own unique thing. The people just want to know. They want to know what the best stuff is. And so our colleagues wanted to give TJ's the wire cutter treatment, which is in depth testing. So they actually recently did a taste test and they crowned 18 of their favorite Trader Joe's items, from snacks to frozen foods to baked goods.

[Rosie Guerin]

Just all the good stuff across dietary restrictions and limitations, because you and I.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Both have them for sure.

[Rosie Guerin]

And so we've got Anthra Sinha, who is an associate writer on the Kitchen team, in to talk Trader Joe's, all.

[Kyra Blackwell]

The things, how she decided what to test and how they narrowed down 18 picks out of what feels like thousands.

[Rosie Guerin]

And also just how the store works and how it exists in the United States, who owns it. There's some good stuff in that piece.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yeah, I'm really excited to talk to her. So we're going to take a quick break. And then when we're back, we're going to talk with Anthra about all of the best tips and tricks that she's learned in reporting for this guide, plus.

[Rosie Guerin]

A little taste test. See you soon.

[Christine Cyr Clisette]

The Wirecutter show is supported by Rocket Mortgage. Your home is an active investment, not a passive one. And with Rocket Mortgage, you can put your home equity to work right away. When you unlock your home equity, you unlock new doors for your family, renovations, extensions, even buying your next property. Get started today with smarter tools and guidance from real mortgage experts. Find out [e-mail] Rocket Mortgage LLC licensed in 50 states nmlsconsumeraccess.org 3030 Wayfair loves fall.

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[Kyra Blackwell]

Welcome back. With us now is Antara Sinha, who is an associate staff writer on the Kitchen team. So previously she was writing for Bon Appetit, Food and Wine and Cooking Light and she has eight years of experience writing about food and drink and culture and she's a really, really big fan of I Cream.

[Rosie Guerin]

I love that for you.

[Anthra Sinha]

My nickname, that self imposed nickname was on the ice cream correspondent at one of my previous jobs.

[Kyra Blackwell]

That's amazing.

[Rosie Guerin]

What's your ice cream of choice when you're out in the world?

[Anthra Sinha]

Always a chip witch number one.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Like an ice cream stand?

[Anthra Sinha]

Yeah, that's my go to. Yep.

[Rosie Guerin]

So a chocolate chip cookie with ice Cream and then another.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Wow.

[Anthra Sinha]

Yeah. Go to. It's always like a slice of pizza. Even a bad one is good.

[Rosie Guerin]

Wow. Big, bold. Well, welcome to the Wirecutter show.

[Kyra Blackwell]

We're very excited.

[Anthra Sinha]

Thank you so much for having me.

[Rosie Guerin]

We're talking about Trader Joe's today, so let's talk. It's pretty unusual for the kitchen team at Wirecutter to write an entire guide just on one store. So how did you decide to do this? Where did this come from? How did it all come about?

[Anthra Sinha]

Me and my editors, we were actually very mindful and had a lot of conversations of, like, what about Trader Joe's kind of warrants this singular coverage in a way that we don't do other supermarkets. And one is the fact that it is a national supermarket that has a huge. I say fan base, but customer base is what I. What I really mean. Fan base as well. Yeah, absolutely. And then also they do kind of inhabit this very unique spot of the sort of ingredients that they sell, the type of products that they sell, introducing a lot of folks to new flavors, international cuisines, and that feels very kind of unique. And we want it to give folks an idea of what's worth their money, what's worth making a trek out for.

[Kyra Blackwell]

I feel like on my TikToks at least. And maybe this is just confirmation bias.

[Rosie Guerin]

Because it's how I. I also feel the algorithm.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yeah. You know, feeding me what I want to hear. But I always see People on TikTok kind of jokingly complaining that Trader Joe's isn't a real grocery store. Like, they. They don't, to me, seem to have the best fresh ingredients, but people love them for their frozen foods and like their really specialty snacks. But you still have to go to a real grocery store after you do a TJ's run. So going back to your, like, fan based CL, what is the real appeal with Trader Joe's? What are people actually getting out of it?

[Anthra Sinha]

I actually am of the same camp. This is my take is that their produce is actually not maybe the best compared to locally sourced produce at your other supermarket. But I think it's relatively affordable. That's a huge plus, which we'll kind of get into all the reasons why. And they also do repackage, quote, unquote, unfamiliar foods, trending foods in a way that's comfortable, palatable, and to the point of it not feeling like a real grocery store. I think that's because when you go into a broader supermarket, you have 10 options for one thing. And Trader Joe's whole business model really relies on. We have one spaghetti and this is the spaghetti that you have to get.

[Kyra Blackwell]

I didn't even think about that.

[Anthra Sinha]

Yeah, so like, think of like, if you go to. I'm a Florida girl, Publix is my number one point of reference. But you have a whole aisle that's just granola bars versus you go to Trader Joe's and there's maybe two or three to pick from.

[Kyra Blackwell]

And their aisles literally aren't that tall.

[Anthra Sinha]

You see all your options in one glance.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Huh.

[Rosie Guerin]

I never thought about that either. Okay, so let's take it back back to the founding. So who is the titular Joe? What is the story? Who owns Trader Joe's now? Where did it come from?

[Anthra Sinha]

Yeah, so Joe Coulomb in the 60s basically was trying to reinvigorate a failing convenience store, essentially. And it started off being a place to sell cheap wine to becoming a place to sell. His whole ethos was to sell food for the over educated and underpaid, which is a very loaded phrase and you can interpret that in the many ways that you want it to.

[Kyra Blackwell]

We're both squinting.

[Anthra Sinha]

Yeah.

[Kyra Blackwell]

The people who can't see, Rosie and I.

[Anthra Sinha]

Well, it's interesting because this was in the 60s and I feel that a lot of food currently still the way that it's marketed to people follows a very similar sort of dog whistling to the type of foods that we make palatable for different types of folks. So the whole tiki vibe was very intentional and was there like from the founding, he wanted to feel like a trading post, which if you're from the west coast, there is a very specific west coast trading post where stuff would come from the east and would be repackaged and sold to folks in California. And so anyway, now it's owned by.

[Rosie Guerin]

Aldi, but it's owned by Aldi.

[Anthra Sinha]

It is, but we're getting kind of into the weeds here. It's owned not by the Aldi that we're familiar with.

[Rosie Guerin]

Okay.

[Anthra Sinha]

We can get into the great Aldi schism of Germany, but that's. I don't know if we have the time for that. But it's owned by Aldi Nord, which is different from Aldi Sued, which is what we have in the US but yes, it is owned by an Aldi and I don't think that you see too much of that influence. It still operates pretty independently. And it is a very specific American aesthetic and American appeal.

[Rosie Guerin]

Right. So to that end, you sort of described the aesthetic and the ethos as like kind of California. It sort of does feel like 60s energy is like the surfer dude vibe. Another thing that I think most people notice, I certainly do, when going into a Trader Joe's, is that everyone seems really happy.

[Anthra Sinha]

So why I think it's really intentional in their sort of trading. They really want Trader Joe's to feel like your local market and a place where you're a regular and you're visiting your local market. And it's enmeshed in your community. And I think you can even see this in the buildings that Trader Joe's chooses. So there's a Trader Joe's underneath the Queensborough Bridge, which is in this historic space. It's very much, if you live on the Upper east side of Manhattan, it is part of your everyday geography. And to very intentionally choose that as the place for a Trader Joe's, it is making a statement that we want this to feel like it's enmeshed in your community. But I would also argue that it's kind of difficult to shop local if you're shopping at a Trader Joe's in a way that, you know, you have so many more local options in your community as well.

[Rosie Guerin]

Another aspect of Trader Joe's is you walk through, you see these items that are imported. I think you mentioned back in the founding, in the 60s, it was. The idea was to make, quote, unquote, foreign or familiar, unfamiliar. Right. Foods, quote, unquote, palatable to folks who haven't maybe experienced them before. So you walk in today, you sometimes see Trader Jose's, which I.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Wait, I still do that.

[Rosie Guerin]

That I, I think is.

[Anthra Sinha]

It's a little bit of a controversy. People really pushed back on them in 2020 for supposed racist overtones of this branding. And they said that they weren't doing it anymore, but I think that they meant that they weren't going to do it for new products. And so a lot of the original products still carry some of that original Trader Giottos Trader Jose's on the packaging. Right.

[Rosie Guerin]

Sort of implying that it's perhaps an Italian type dish or a, you know, nondescript Latin American type dish. So what I'm really asking is who is making the food that exists at Trader Joe's?

[Anthra Sinha]

Yeah, there's a lot to kind of get into here. Cause Trader Joe's has a very specific model that kind of what makes it what it is. They rely on co packing and co manufacturing, which honestly, most supermarkets do. The difference is that Trader Joe's, if you walk into it, you realize that 80% of the things on the shelves have a Trader Joe's label on it compared to a Publix or a Costco or a Target where it's kind of half and half or 80, 20 in the opposite direction.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Can you break down what co packing and co manufacturing is?

[Anthra Sinha]

Yeah, let's get into it. So co packing is essentially when you have a brand, it could be a big brand like PepsiCo or a smaller brand, make the food for you and it's then taken to someone who packages it and labels it with the person who's putting getting it supplied from the food manufacturer. Honestly, a lot of brands operate like this because you realize that the branding of an item is kind of a huge cost. And so that's how Trader Joe's actually also makes things so cheap is because majority of their stuff is in house. In house and labeling, but the food is coming from other manufacturers.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Oh, that's really interesting. Like when I, when I covered mattresses I went to factories and I saw that a lot of mattress companies are like producing mattresses and then they're just slapping like a different brand on top, but it's all the same manuf. So at Trader Joe's items are made by a separate company and rebranded with the TJ's name and logo. So you might also hear it called white labeling, is that right?

[Anthra Sinha]

For sure, White labeling, private labeling, they're all kind of related practices with minor differences. But that's kind of the gist of Trader Joe's whole business model.

[Rosie Guerin]

So okay, one of the things I like from Trader Joe's is the miso paste that comes in that little plastic pouch. So take that as an example and take it through the process of how it ends up at a Trader Joe's.

[Anthra Sinha]

Okay? So for miso, Trader Joe's builds a relation with a miso manufacturer. This could be a well known miso brand or it could be a small miso company that has no kind of public facing branding.

[Rosie Guerin]

Okay.

[Anthra Sinha]

They take that miso and have a relationship with a co packer which will then package it with Trader Joe's branding.

[Rosie Guerin]

Okay.

[Anthra Sinha]

And this helps cut costs from a few ways. Basically. There's also something called slotting fees which is a brand like I keep using Pepsico because it's the biggest company I can think of.

[Rosie Guerin]

As an example.

[Anthra Sinha]

As an example, at a normal grocery store they have to pay a slotting fee which is a one time payment to even put any of their products on the shelves. And that's also what ups the price of the product because they have a one time huge fee they have to pay. A Publix or a Target.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yeah.

[Anthra Sinha]

Because products for Trader Joe's are private labeled. There's no slotting fee. That keeps the cost down.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Oh, another big part of this store's lore is that you can go into a store on any given day and one of your favorite things might be discontinued forever.

[Anthra Sinha]

Right.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Why? Why do they do this? Is it on purpose?

[Anthra Sinha]

It is on purpose. Absolutely.

[Rosie Guerin]

It's the ire.

[Anthra Sinha]

Yeah. Well, this all kind of goes back to how they keep their so cheap. Going back to slotting fees because they aren't getting sort of the one time fee of a brand paying to put their product on the shelf. It's really expensive to keep the store stocked with something if it even dips a little bit in sales. And so it's in their benefit to have this high turnover constantly. Have new hyped like, you know, the pumpkin spice suite that comes to light like every single August or early and earlier every year. It feels like it's in their benefit to have this rapid turnover. It's really expensive to keep a product stocked on shelves year round.

[Kyra Blackwell]

So it's cheaper for them to just cut it and move on to the next thing.

[Anthra Sinha]

Move on to the next trend, the next fad, the next trending food combination.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Anybody from Trader Joe's who is part of that decision making process. If you cut my rose toner, I'm going to lose it. I've used that toner for like eight years straight.

[Rosie Guerin]

Scary.

[Anthra Sinha]

But here's what happens is that with that rapid turnover, it also keeps folks coming back because there is the sort of feeling of intrigue, of discovery every time you walk into the store. That's very much part of their aesthetic.

[Rosie Guerin]

That's really what gets me too. I am. What would you call it?

[Kyra Blackwell]

I don't know how to say it nicely. Adventurous.

[Rosie Guerin]

I'm an adventure shopper. She's adventurous. I like to go into the store with an open mind rather than a list.

[Anthra Sinha]

No, me too.

[Rosie Guerin]

Trader Joe's is the perfect place for.

[Anthra Sinha]

That because they're in your brain.

[Rosie Guerin]

I didn't see that last time. Let me try that.

[Kyra Blackwell]

It is kind of similar to. I love going to other countries and one of my favorite things is just to go into the grocery stores and see what's up. Absolutely. I get that exact same feeling when I go into Trader Joe's. So yeah, they're doing something right.

[Anthra Sinha]

Yeah. Very curated. These decisions are very much. They're not just pulling them out of nowhere. They like every grocery store. They're looking at what flavors people are really looking to right now. Like, I just checked today and they already have their Dubai chocolate dupe on shelves. And, you know, I'm sure they were on their game months ago. Wow.

[Rosie Guerin]

So it's trends and seasonality.

[Anthra Sinha]

Yes.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Do you have any advice for shopping for your favorite things at Trader Joe's? Because I just feel like it is hard to find things that you like in stock all the time. What is your best advice for buying your favorite things at Trader Joe's all year round?

[Anthra Sinha]

For something that's sort of like a frozen item, you should just stock up when you see it. If you have the space in your freezer, if you know frozen rice packets are how you build your meals out. Although I doubt they would discontinue something basic like that.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Well, you say that now.

[Anthra Sinha]

Yeah, definitely stock up. I would also really like to encourage people because of so much of Trader Joe's portfolio really does rely on, quote, unquote, international foods, things that are unfamiliar. The thing is that a lot of those items are available maybe even in your own neighborhood, if you go to an Asian market or if you go to a South Asian market, a Latin American market. So, for example, one of our picks in this guide is the frozen kimbap. Kimbap is this Korean dish where it looks almost like sushi. It's seaweed wrapped around rice, usually wrapped around some assortment of fish, seafood, vegetables, whatever you want. I think it's excellent. But I also know for a fact that if you go to an h Mart, there's 10 types of frozen kimbap. And if you love something enough that you want to kind of be more exploratory about it, for sure. Check out those other places.

[Rosie Guerin]

We're going to take a quick break, and when we're back, we're going to reveal Anthra's hottest tip to finding out the companies that actually manufacture Trader Joe's products. And we're also going to taste some stuff.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Live taste test.

[Rosie Guerin]

Live taste test. Stick around.

[Christine Cyr Clisette]

The Wirecutter show is supported by Rocket Mortgage. Your home is an active investment, not a passive one. And with Rocket Mortgage, you can put your home equity to work right away. When you unlock your home equity, you unlock new doors for your family. Renovations, extensions, even buying your next property. Get started today with smarter tools and guidance from real mortgage experts. Find out [e-mail] Rocket Mortgage LLC. Licensed in 50 states. Nmlsconsumeraccess.org 3030 Wayfair loves fall.

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[Dell AI Commercial Voice]

Montblanc invites you to use life's quiet moments to pause, reflect and put pen to paper.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Chapter oh no, no, no, no, no. Part one.

[Rosie Guerin]

Perfect.

[Kyra Blackwell]

The mountains are impressive. Oh, I wish you were here to see them. Dear Diary, meet my new writing companion, the Meisterstuck.

[Dell AI Commercial Voice]

For every journey, the perfect companion awaits Montblanc. Let's write. Visit montblanc.com for exquisitely crafted writing instruments, leather goods, and more.

[Anthra Sinha]

Foreign.

[Rosie Guerin]

Welcome back. Our guest today is Anthra Sinha, an associate staff writer on the kitchen team here at Wirecutter. She wrote an article for the site entitled Our Favorite Things from Trader Joe's, which I think is pretty self explanatory. Anthra, in your piece you wrote quote, in our pursuit of Trader Joe's best offerings, we tasted over 70 of its frozen, refrigerated, bakery and pantry items. Many didn't beat out similar products from other grocery stores, but some items were so tasty and convenient that now they're appearing in our own shopping carts. So anyone who's been to a Trader Joe's knows they have hundreds, if not thousands of products. How ever did you decide where you and the team were gonna begin, what to test? And what was that testing process like?

[Anthra Sinha]

Yeah, we had a few meetings about how we wanted to organize this. It's definitely very daunting because it's a whole grocery store. There's a lot of things to look at. I went today to purchase some stuff for this taste test and I was like, oh no, there's a whole new shelf of new arrivals. I have to have to take a picture for future coverage.

[Rosie Guerin]

And I imagine a lot of pressure. Cause people love what they love there.

[Anthra Sinha]

Exactly. So our first sort of place to winnow it down a little bit was that we eliminated what we kind of put this broad category of ingredients. So basically whatever we would want to test independently, like in a best butter guide or in a best ketchup guide, we left those items out. So that eliminated quite a bit. We also chose not to test fresh and fresh Prepared products because there's so much store to store variant, there's so much sourcing variants. And we also kind of were under the assumption that if you're a regular Trader Joe's shopper, we can't tell you if the bananas are, you know, the best bananas or the worst bananas. So that definitely made the store a little bit smaller. And then from there, we went department by department. And for the most part, we tried to keep our first round of coverage for this guide, things that are available year round. But that's tough because already there are things that I want to purchase that are not available anymore. It literally involved my editor and I walking around Trader Joe's with our camera in hand and taking pictures of the aisles that we wanted to focus our coverage on. And so that kind of narrowed us down to frozen items, to snacks, to baked goods, which I think is kind of where the call to Trader Joe's is most excited about to begin with. So it was a fun process. A lot of cheese, a lot of. A lot of snacks.

[Rosie Guerin]

Okay, so then you picked what you picked, and then was it you eating all of these things?

[Anthra Sinha]

Absolutely not. That's so much food. I mean, even so, for this guide, I was pretty fortunate where the majority of our team, so like eight plus of us were able to taste test these products. We did over five days, multiple hours of testing a lot of them. You know, we tried to kind of group them in an intentional way. So our first day, we made ourselves a fun little charcuterie spread with cheese and crackers and meat and had everyone just report on their favorites and what wasn't working for them.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Your job is awesome.

[Anthra Sinha]

It was. It was a fun day. We also were like, let's do this after 4pm so it feels more like a little happy hour. And then another day, we tried to focus on frozen snacks. So that's where the fun jalapeno poppers came in. Toward the end, we were like, this is a lot of Trader Joe's to be eating in one stretch. But I feel pretty kind of happy with where we landed with. We had a wide range of perspectives in the mix too. So I'm single, very much shopping for myself, and so the convenience foods I gravitate toward are different from an editor on our team who has kids and is very much looking to fill lunch boxes and populate snack time with stuff that she feels good about.

[Kyra Blackwell]

What surprised you most during testing?

[Anthra Sinha]

I was honestly surprised by. Despite everyone's sort of varied palates and varied different ways of grocery shopping, we Were all able to kind of come together to a consensus on most items. Obviously, there's preferences of taste. Like, I personally was not a fan of the caramelized cheese cheddar, but we had an editor on the staff who was really advocating for it as one of her favorites. But when it came to terms in terms of just quality and bang for your buck, it was pretty easy to come to a consensus. For example, the unexpected cheddar is one of our picks in the guide, and it's comparable in price to our best American cheese pick from a different guide. And that's, I think, a real value because you have a kind of special tasting cheese. I can put on a cheese board of the same value as your, like, Kraft singles. So that felt like something that was worth calling out is, if you're going to Trader Joe's, this is worth seeking out.

[Rosie Guerin]

And so then, conversely, what did you hate?

[Anthra Sinha]

It was a truffle mousse pate. For folks who don't know what pate is, it's chicken liver. And I will say that we were really kind of hoping that this could be a great beginner pate to try. Like, if you've never had pate before.

[Rosie Guerin]

Why would that be a good beginning?

[Anthra Sinha]

Well, because it's available.

[Rosie Guerin]

Is trouffle, like, very polarizing.

[Anthra Sinha]

It's pretty cheap, so low barrier to entry.

[Rosie Guerin]

Okay. For a pate.

[Anthra Sinha]

For a pate, it was not. I mean, it wasn't even just the flavor. It was gritty. Unanimously. We were all not a fan.

[Rosie Guerin]

I'll tell you what, I don't want this gritty pate. Yes.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Do you guys ever have, like, a 50 50? Do you have to vote? Do you have to try and convince somebody to turn to the other side? How does that work?

[Anthra Sinha]

So the way that we do taste tests is that we get everyone's sort of qualitative feedback on every item. So it's not just taste flavor. It's also information like, how would you serve this? Would you go to Trader Joe's specifically for this item? And so we're usually able to get enough qualitative information where, okay, even if this wasn't this one person's absolute favorite, they did, like, the value add of this. They would. So it's really a conversation for every item of, like, is it good? Is the quality good? Is it something that is a good bang for your buck? Is it something that you would go out of your way to purchase? And I think with all of those combined, it we were able to make a strong case for every Item on the list.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Antara. Did you ever discover some of the companies that are doing this private labeling for Trader Joe's? I need to know.

[Anthra Sinha]

Yeah, so for this guide, we didn't intentionally sort of go into it as a way to sleuth, like what suppliers Trader Joe's was using, but there's some really excellent reporting by ITER in 2017 where they FOIA'd the FDA and the USDA for all recall information. So this is a really smart way to check for.

[Rosie Guerin]

Tricky.

[Anthra Sinha]

Yeah. So if there's a recall, for example, of big name potato chip company and it happens to coincide with a recall from a Trader Joe's for that same potato chip, you can kind of make the educated guess that they're coming from the same manufacturer.

[Rosie Guerin]

That's called deductive reasoning.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yeah, very Sherlock Holmes.

[Anthra Sinha]

Yeah. It was kind of interesting because Trader Joe's does unfortunately happen to be in the news quite a bit for recalls, and it's because they're using so many co packers in this way.

[Rosie Guerin]

Right.

[Anthra Sinha]

And so if you're curious about this, if you're really interested, you can just kind of follow recall information.

[Rosie Guerin]

Okay. Yeah, Interesting.

[Kyra Blackwell]

I might, because there are some things that they've never brought back, but I'm determined to find out where they sourced that from.

[Anthra Sinha]

Where did people made this?

[Rosie Guerin]

Totally.

[Anthra Sinha]

I think also an important sort of distinction to make is that everyone thinks that you can just look at the ingredients. And usually what happens is that these big suppliers will tweak their ingredients for Trader Joe's. So it's not quite as easy as a one to one comparison. So like the naked juice, for example, they use, I think, some spirulina in their green juice. But the green juice at Trader Joe's may not, and, but you know, you wouldn't know that unless you for sure knew that they were both from the same supplier.

[Kyra Blackwell]

We're gonna do the best part, which is a taste test. But before we start, I did wanna know what your absolute favorite thing is from Trader Joe's. And it doesn't have to be anything that you put in this guide.

[Anthra Sinha]

Right. Well, to go back to the beginning, they're Chipwich. Excellent.

[Rosie Guerin]

Okay. What is your favorite thing from Trader Joe's that is? Not ice cream.

[Anthra Sinha]

Oh, man, that's tough. I have a pretty strong sweet tooth, so I'm such a sucker for like, the baked goods, their, you know, vanilla cake, their chocolate cake. The chocolate cake was one of our picks and I literally had to like foist it off to other people because I'm like, don't let me take this whole cake home. It will be gone on the subway before I even get to my apartment.

[Kyra Blackwell]

So I feel like this is an appropriate time for me to mention that the three of us have a really interesting Venn diagram of things that we can't eat.

[Anthra Sinha]

Right.

[Rosie Guerin]

So this is why we're not testing the entirety of the store.

[Anthra Sinha]

Yeah.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Because, well, when you narrow it down after meeting all of our dietary requirements, we have two things.

[Anthra Sinha]

Yeah.

[Rosie Guerin]

Yes, I've got food allergies. Yeah, you've got food allergies.

[Kyra Blackwell]

You've got.

[Anthra Sinha]

I don't eat beef or pork. And I'm also allergic to walnuts and pecans. There's two items on the guide which, honestly, I will say that, like, there is something for everyone on this guide. And we made an effort to really call out dietary restrictions in the guide as well. So if you're looking for kosher, friendly, dairy free, gluten free, vegan, we tried to do our best to really call those out for you.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yeah, you really do. Unless the three of us are ever in a room together again.

[Anthra Sinha]

Then we have two items. Let's get into it.

[Rosie Guerin]

Okay. Let's eat. What did you bring for us?

[Anthra Sinha]

Yeah. So we have basically Trader Joe's version of takis, which are these, like, flavored tortilla chips. They're rolled. They're really, like. They're alarmingly red, very sour, very spicy.

[Kyra Blackwell]

They have this, like, lime punch.

[Anthra Sinha]

They have a lime punch. It's the kind you want to, like, lick your fingers. But all this to say these takis aren't quite at a 10, they're like, at a mellow 6, but still punchy and flavorful and excellent. And then the second item that we have is the frozen kimbap that I kept talking about. It's this Korean dish where it's rolled veggies. There's some tofu in here, burdock root in here. And it's a really convenient packag, which a lot of folks on our team were big fans of because it's a very quick workplace lunch snack for your kids. It fills a lot of buckets, and it's also vegan, so we can all share and enjoy it together.

[Rosie Guerin]

We love it. All right, what are we gonna taste first?

[Anthra Sinha]

Maybe let's do the frozen kimbap first. Yeah, we all were big fans of this.

[Rosie Guerin]

Let's give it a little cheeky taste.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Okay.

[Anthra Sinha]

Smells good.

[Kyra Blackwell]

I love a little meat sushi, but this one's just tofu.

[Anthra Sinha]

It's good.

[Rosie Guerin]

It's Like a little bit fishy. The tofu is almost like the tofu skin. Like an Inari type tofu skin. Delicious.

[Kyra Blackwell]

But you get a little crunch. What is that? Like from a carrot?

[Rosie Guerin]

A carrot, maybe.

[Kyra Blackwell]

I see something green there too.

[Anthra Sinha]

Yeah. There's some veggies in here. There's some burdock root in here.

[Rosie Guerin]

This tastes really nice.

[Anthra Sinha]

It has, like, a mellow sweetness to it that we all really liked.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yeah, it kind of feels like a whole lunch in, like, one tiny snack. You get a little rice, you get a little veggie, you get quote unquote meat.

[Rosie Guerin]

Oh, there's the crunch.

[Anthra Sinha]

Yeah. One of our editors, their favorite hack is to take these while they're frozen and kind of roll them in some whisked egg and then pan fry them. And that kind of makes it into even more of a complete meal with your added protein from the eggs, so.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Oh, I'm doing that immediately.

[Rosie Guerin]

My kids might like that, actually.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yeah, I would eat that for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

[Rosie Guerin]

All right, what else are we testing?

[Anthra Sinha]

These are rolled corn tortilla chips. Chili and lime flavored.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yum.

[Rosie Guerin]

Doesn't roll off the tongue.

[Anthra Sinha]

Not. Not quite as much as Takis, but. Here, let me. Go ahead. These are, like, solidly beach snack territory for me, even though they would part you out. But I think that's kind of the fun of it. Mmm.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yeah.

[Anthra Sinha]

ASMR of us chewing 20 of cheese.

[Rosie Guerin]

I like.

[Kyra Blackwell]

It just hits you. It's just. It tastes like a really savory, but limey tortilla chip.

[Anthra Sinha]

Yeah, it's very punchy.

[Kyra Blackwell]

And it's rolled into this fun little. What is this, like a straight Cheeto?

[Rosie Guerin]

You know what I like about this shape is that you get so much of the seasoning on it. You know, like a regular triangle shaped tortilla trip. You might get less on the top, a little more on the bottom, a little more on one side or the other. This is just coated. Dredged.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yeah, yeah.

[Rosie Guerin]

In chili lime.

[Anthra Sinha]

And then your fingers are dredged and it's like a hole.

[Kyra Blackwell]

It's so satisfying, though. It's so satisfying. You know, when I'm usually eating, like, tortilla chips, regular ones, I find myself digging through the bag looking for the ones that look like they have the most seasoning on them. You never have to do that with these.

[Anthra Sinha]

Yum.

[Rosie Guerin]

Delicious.

[Anthra Sinha]

They're a real, I think, crowd favorite. We were all big fans of this one.

[Rosie Guerin]

All right, well, we've tasted, we've talked. Trader Joe's. The real question is, when are you doing this for Costco?

[Anthra Sinha]

Oh, man. God. Can you imagine? A whole warehouse of.

[Rosie Guerin]

It'll take you.

[Anthra Sinha]

We have been talking about. Okay, we've done Trader Joe's. What are other sort of national supermarkets that warrant the same degree of coverage? And if you talk about brand loyalty. The people love Costco.

[Rosie Guerin]

The people love Costco. It's in the zeitgeist and it has been for a while.

[Kyra Blackwell]

You would need like a 10 part series for that, so.

[Anthra Sinha]

Absolutely. Yeah.

[Rosie Guerin]

All right. Well, till then.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Before we wrap, we always ask our guests one final question. So, Antara, what is the last thing you bought that you really loved?

[Anthra Sinha]

Ooh, I'm trying to think. I recently bought Onitsuka sneakers.

[Rosie Guerin]

Ooh, some more.

[Anthra Sinha]

Yeah. Which. They're these Japanese brand. They're of the same sort of genre as like the sambas, the gazelles, like flat walking shoes. But I wore them on vacation and I love them. They're like a fun pop of color. They are teal.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Are you wearing them right now?

[Anthra Sinha]

I am wearing them right now. Oh, yeah.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Okay. Okay.

[Rosie Guerin]

Very nice.

[Kyra Blackwell]

I am familiar with this brand.

[Anthra Sinha]

Yeah.

[Rosie Guerin]

Entre Sinha. Thank you so much for joining us. This was really, really fun. I feel educated. I feel satiated.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yeah.

[Rosie Guerin]

I feel happy. Happy.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yeah.

[Anthra Sinha]

Thanks so much for having. This was so much fun.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Wow. I could listen to Anthra talk all day. She's just so knowledgeable.

[Rosie Guerin]

She had all the. All the answers.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yeah, I know. Who knew that there was so much to know about Trader Joe's?

[Rosie Guerin]

I hoped there was a lot to learn about Trader Joe's, and I think we were right.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yeah.

[Rosie Guerin]

What are you taking away from this episode?

[Kyra Blackwell]

Well, first of all, kind of weird that there's actually a dude named Joe. I didn't realize that that was a guy.

[Rosie Guerin]

I love it.

[Kyra Blackwell]

I think that my biggest takeaway is how they keep their food so affordable. I didn't even think about the way that they don't have to worry about stocking the shelves because the shelves are filled with products with their name on it.

[Rosie Guerin]

Yeah.

[Kyra Blackwell]

So they're not paying that really high stocking fee when they're putting a new product on the shelves.

[Rosie Guerin]

It's definitely a unique business model.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yeah.

[Rosie Guerin]

I think for me, having some explanation of how it is that certain items I fall in love with aren't there. You know, the next time I go. That was helpful to understand, I think also understanding the behaviors around why I might go to Trader Joe's for snacks or dry goods or some frozen things, but then maybe go somewhere else or somewhere more local. For my produce.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yeah.

[Rosie Guerin]

Not that I needed to be absolved of that, but it just was helpful to understand why that might be.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yeah, it makes sense. And I do feel a little bit better because I have been mocked for wanting to go to separate grocery stores for different things.

[Rosie Guerin]

No, Kyra, you're perfect.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Thank you.

[Rosie Guerin]

If you want to find out more about Wirecutter's coverage or if you want to check out any of the products Anthra mentioned today, you can check out our website or you can find a link in our show notes. Thank you so much for listening. We'll talk to you soon.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Bye. The Wirecutter show is executive produced by Rosie Guerin and produced by Abigail Kiel. Engineering support from Matty Mazziello and Nick Pittman. Today's episode was mixed by Sophia Landman. Original music by Dan Powell, Marion Lozano, Alicia Ba? Itup, Katherine Anderson, Rowan Nimisto and Diane Wong. Cliff Levy is Wirecutter's deputy publisher and general manager. Ben Fruman is Wirecutter's editor in chief. I'm Kyra Blackwell.

[Christine Cyr Clisette]

I'm Christine Cyrclassette.

[Rosie Guerin]

And I'm Rosie K. Garen.

[Kyra Blackwell]

Thanks for listening.

[Anthra Sinha]

If I bring up chipchicken, will I get banned?

[Kyra Blackwell]

Yeah.

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Wayfair loves fall. The crisp air, the cool nights, and of course, the seasonal lattes. And as your trusted destination for all things home, Wayfair's got everything you need to cozify your space, from comfy recliners to warm bedding and autumn decorations. Wayfair even has espresso makers so you can make that latte at home. You know the one? Head to Wayfair.com today to shop curated collections of easy, affordable fall updates. That's W a Y F A I R.com Wayfair Every style, every home.