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- Trader Joe’s is a beloved grocery chain with loads of its own in-house products.
- Many of the grocer’s products seem eerily similar to more mainstream brands. That’s because the company has an agreement with third-party sellers to buy and sell products under the Trader Joe’s label, Eater reported.
- But Trader Joe’s generally doesn’t reveal the well-known brands that supply its products.
- Sometimes, as in the case with pita chips, the Trader Joe’s-brand tastes practically identical to the name-brand product.
- We tasted eight similar products from Trader Joe’s and name-brands to see which were better. Trader Joe’s almost always came out on top, except for a few crucial losses and one tie.
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People love Trader Joe’s. That much is clear.
With 488 stores across the country, the nautical-themed grocer has a lot to offer, from low prices to loads of in-house products that bear the Trader Joe’s name.
People love Trader Joe’s products, but many have picked up a similarity to more mainstream brands. For example, Trader Joe’s pita chips look and taste almost identical to the well-known Stacy’s-brand pita chips. And Joe-Joe’s cookies bear a striking resemblance to Oreos.
Though the company hasn’t formally admitted it, Trader Joe’s reportedly has an agreement with third-party sellers that allows it to buy and sell products under the Trader Joe’s label, Eater reported. The identities of the well-known brands that supply Trader Joe’s products are unknown, but people have tried to figure them out in the past.
Getting products directly from suppliers eliminates the middleman in the supply chain and helps Trader Joe’s keep its prices low, the chain claims.
We decided to put Trader Joe’s products to the test to see how they compare to the mainstream brands. We compared eight products, including orange juice, hummus, cereal, and peanut butter cups. We determined winners based on overall taste and price. All prices reflect those in the New York City stores we visited.
Overall, Trader Joe’s products were cheaper and better, except in some crucial head-to-heads. There was also one tie.
Here’s what we found:
We went shopping in a New York City Trader Joe’s and a local drug store to find similar products to test out.
Shoshy Ciment/Business Insider
We hit Trader Joe’s first and picked up products that looked like they would be easy to find under other brands in another store.
Shoshy Ciment/Business Insider
Next, we stopped by a Duane Reade in Manhattan’s Financial District and matched the products as best as we could.
Shoshy Ciment/Business Insider
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- We shopped at GNC and Vitamin Shoppe to see which supplement store is better. The difference was surprisingly stark.
- We went to Trader Joe’s and found 7 main reasons why so many people are obsessed with the quirky grocer
- I tried mac and cheese from 6 chains, and the winner blew away the competition
Source: Business Insider – feedback@businessinsider.com (Shoshy Ciment)