Trader Joe's Customers Learn The Real Brands Behind Their Favorite Items
We all love Trader Joe’s, right? The supermarket’s offerings are always delicious, varied, and — crucially — affordable. But what if we told you many of its branded products aren’t made in-house, and the identities of the third-party companies who actually make them are kept under lock and key? Never fear, though — we’ve identified 20 popular items whose real manufacturers have managed to slip through the Trader Joe’s veil of secrecy.
20. Trader Joe’s Organic Yogurt = Stonyfield Farm Organic Yogurt
This entry will actually be a great moneysaver for the many yogurt connoisseurs out there on the East Coast. You see, according to Fortune magazine, the Trader Joe’s Organic Yogurt that people love so much is actually supplied by New Hampshire’s Stonyfield Farm, which is owned by Danone. Interestingly, this very same foodstuff is usually a buck or so cheaper at Trader Joe’s.
Great news for devotees
Now, if you’re a Stonyfield devotee, you’ll probably still want to buy their full range of yogurts, milk, smoothies, and frozen yogurts. But if you’re just in the market for a simple plain organic yogurt, you could do worse than getting the Trader Joe’s branded tub. Think of everything you could spend that saved dollar on! Probably more yogurt, come to think of it.
19. Trader Joe’s Pita Chips with Sea Salt = Stacy’s Simply Naked Pita Chips
In 2010 journalists from Fortune dived deep into the murky world of Trader Joe’s in order to find out who actually makes many of its products. It found that, for example, the Pita Chips with Sea Salt were not locally made by artisan bakers. Instead, they were supplied by Stacy’s, which is a division of Frito-Lay, which is itself a division of PepsiCo.
What’s inside?
Food website Eater then took another angle in its investigation in 2017 — it simply compared ingredients! According to Eater, the ingredients for Stacy’s Simply Naked Pita Chips are virtually identical to those of Trader Joe’s Pita Chips with Sea Salt. It even commissioned a taste test, and the subjects could barely distinguish between the two different types of chip. Case closed!
