Trader Joe's revealed its annual list of customer favorites—here are the top 8 products of 2023 (2024)

FAQs

Trader Joe's revealed its annual list of customer favorites—here are the top 8 products of 2023? ›

Trader Joe's is known for its unique food products, including seasonal offerings, as well as for its low prices. But Trader Joe's actually was not the most popular grocery store in America in 2022. In fact, a YouGov survey showed another grocery store was just a little bit more beloved among U.S. adults.

Trader Joe's is known for its unique food products, including seasonal offerings, as well as for its low prices. But Trader Joe's actually was not the most popular grocery store in America in 2022. In fact, a YouGov survey showed another grocery store was just a little bit more beloved among U.S. adults.

Low prices.

Unlike McDonald's secret sauce one of the keys to Trader Joe's success is not a mystery. Trader Joe's attracts customers looking for a bargain by selling items like wine, peanut butter and humus at low prices, between $2.00 to $4.00. You can also get a banana at Trader Joe's for only 19 cents.

We are committed to providing our customers outstanding value in the form of the best quality products at the best everyday prices. Through our rewarding products and knowledgeable, friendly Crew Members, we have been transforming grocery shopping into a welcoming journey full of discovery and fun since 1967.

By selling almost all of its products under its own labels, Trader Joe's "skips the middle man" and buys directly from both local and international vendors. While a typical grocery store may carry 50,000 items, Trader Joe's stocks about 4,000 items, 80% of which bear one of its brand names.

The current reigning champion at Trader Joe's is the Chili & Lime Flavored Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips, which the supermarket's copywriters describe as “spicy, ire-zest-tible little scrolls made from stone ground corn masa.”

Trader Joe's's alternatives and competitors. See how Trader Joe's compares to similar products. Trader Joe's's top competitors include Tres Lecheria, Thrive Market, and Whole Foods Market.

Meet the typical Trader Joe's shopper

As per Numerator, the typical Trader Joe's shopper is likely to be a Caucasian woman, is between the ages of 41 and 57, and makes more than $80,000.

By selling foods outside of what the shopper typically sees, Trader Joe's customers keep coming back to see what's new. Over the years, the grocery chain has cultivated a loyal customer base. These customers appreciate the unusual products and competitive prices in the store.

The secrets to Trader Joe's success are pretty simple and not all that secret: smaller stores with a limited number of SKUs, a friendly, playful atmosphere, helpful employees, aggressively competitive pricing, and most importantly, the food. It's Trader Joe's focus on food that makes the rest of it work.

What are the 7 values of Trader Joe's? ›

They Provide a Seamless In-Store Experience

Beyond the friendly staff, the in-store experience has been optimized with the customer in mind. For example, a typical supermarket has 40 to 50,000 SKUs (stock-keeping units). A Trader Joe's store typically has about 4,000, so only about 10% of the total number of products.

The supermarket chain has a reputation for offering outstanding customer service. And not only are its products affordable, they're also delicious. But surprisingly, in a recent YouGov survey of the most popular supermarkets in America, Trader Joe's only managed to come in second.

Our mission is to bring you the best quality products at the best prices. To do this, we have to manage our store space smartly. If a product is not earning its spot on our shelves, then we discontinue it to make room for something new.

Number of Trader Joes stores in the United States in 2023

There are 562 Trader Joes stores in the United States as of May 16, 2023. The state with the most number of Trader Joes locations in the US is California, with 193 stores, which is about 34% of all Trader Joes stores in the US.

Trader Joe's average customer is a married person in an urban area who is 25 to 44 years old, earning $80,000.

Weaknesses. Limited store presence: While Trader Joe's operates over 500 stores in the United States, its store count is relatively low compared to other major grocery chains. This limited presence can restrict the company's reach and make it difficult for some customers to access its stores.

That is: Trader Joe's more or less only sells products under its own brand name, with few exceptions. Trader Joe's is definitely cheaper than the average grocery store, but you might have to wait in a longer checkout line to take advantage of them.

It's easy to tell that Trader Joe's employees love their jobs, and a large reason for that is because the company invests in employee experience. Trader Joe's pays its employees competitive wages and offers health care benefits to even part-time employees.

Why are Trader Joe's workers so nice? ›

So what is the reason Trader Joe's employees are so nice? The answer seems to be that the company treats its employees well, and so employees want to return the favor to the customers. Lucky us. NBC News reports that customers are likely to save as much as 20 percent on groceries.

Forbes just released its annual report ranking the best companies to work for in 2019. In the anonymous survey of 50,000 working Americans, a grocery store topped the list. The winner is Trader Joe's, known for its delicious frozen foods, small market charm and high-quality curated products.

Crew. As a member of the Crew, you do a little of everything—and handle a lot. So does everyone along with you. From running the register, to stocking shelves, to creating a beautiful display; all while making sure that every customer has a fun, friendly and informative shopping experience.

So what was it about Trader Joe's that resulted in such high levels of customer satisfaction? The chain ranked first on atmosphere and fast checkouts, and second on cleanliness, courteous staff, merchandise selection and accurate pricing.

A target customer is an individual that's most likely to buy your product. And it's a subset of the broader target market. For example, if your target market is female athletes between the ages of 13 to 25, a target customer could be female athletes in the specific age range of 13 to 16.

Donkeys, whales, monkeys, and lobsters are just some of the stuffed animals placed throughout stores as a way to keep children and parents entertained while shopping, confirms Today.

"I found myself in the dark wood of unemployment and debt, but instead of switching careers like a sane person, I took a job at a local Trader Joe's to see if I could hang in there with my career and it's actually worked out pretty well," he said. "I'm Geoffrey Owens and I'm an actor!"

“In March, we noted the unique struggles that Trader Joe's would likely face during COVID. The brand's pricing, lack of online orientation, and perception as 'part' of the grocery picture as opposed to a one-stop-shop, were factors that we felt would limit success,” writes Ethan Chernofsky of Placer.ai.

Trader Joe's Price/Pricing Strategy:

To gain an edge over its competitors and meet the needs of its customers, it uses competitive pricing strategy making its products affordable and inexpensive. Price of the products ranges from $2-$40 depending upon the product.

Current Strategy Trader Joe's current strategy is to offer products to the sophisticated consumers, hire quality employees and to maintain smaller stores carrying their private label brand at everyday low prices. By using these strategies, Trader Joe's has created a unique grocery store with a loyal customer base.

What are Trader Joe's interviews like? ›

Trader Joe's Interview Process:

Most people go through two interviews before getting hired at Trader Joe's. If you get invited to a second interview, that means you're very likely to be hired. If you're accepted, and they decide to hire you, it can take about a week for you to start working at Trader Joe's.

While most of Trader Joe's values are self-explanatory, kaizen — a Japanese word that translates roughly to continuous self-improvement — may be unfamiliar to many. “For us that means everybody in the company owes everybody else a better job every day, every year, in what they do,” said Mr. Bane.

For the business-level, Trader Joe's adopted a differentiation focus strategy.

The number of rings holds a message for store employees. One bell signals that it's busy and it's time to open another register. Two bells mean there are questions at the checkout.

The most important key performance indicators in the retail business are total sales, gross profit margin, and sales per hour. According to Agert and Roberto (2013), “experts estimated that Trader Joe's generated approximately $10 billion in annual revenue” (p. 5).

Each Trader Joe's has a "captain" supported by "mates, merchants, and a crew." This symbolism carries forward a theme that is engaging, spontaneous, and rich in tradition. Creating customs and symbols provides texture to the employee experience. These themes are also repeatable across the enterprise.

Meet the typical Trader Joe's shopper

As per Numerator, the typical Trader Joe's shopper is likely to be a Caucasian woman, is between the ages of 41 and 57, and makes more than $80,000.

That is: Trader Joe's more or less only sells products under its own brand name, with few exceptions. Trader Joe's is definitely cheaper than the average grocery store, but you might have to wait in a longer checkout line to take advantage of them.

However, Trader Joe's sells a higher quality of produce all-round over Aldi, which is partially why it tends to be more expensive. Their non-perishable and packaged products are generally more expensive than Aldi's, though as above, the difference in prices is negligible.

Why does Trader Joe's have such a loyal customer base? ›

The grocery store has established a loyal customer base by keeping its prices low and its inventory attractive to shoppers. Since its founding in 1958, Trader Joe's has opened 561 stores in 42 states plus the District of Columbia. The company has annual revenue of $13 billion.

The data shows that the typical Target shopper is a suburban mother between 35 and 44 years of age. The typical Target customer also has some college education and a household income of $80,000. The latter helps explain all of those $200 Target runs. For lower-income households, those splurges may not be possible.

At Trader Joe's, turnover among full-time employees is less than 10%.

Negotiate Salary

If you think you and your skill set should be valued higher than your offer, negotiate your salary! 20% of men and 100% of women at Trader Joe's said they negotiated their salaries. On average, Trader Joe's employees earn $128,919. Trader Joe's ranks in the Bottom 45% for compensation in Los Angeles.

Trader Joe's and Aldi were fairly aligned with respect to most pantry and meat products, and the winner of the lowest price seesawed from item to item. The big exception is that Trader Joe's seems untouchable when it comes to discount prices on coffee, oils and nuts.

For produce, Trader Joe's prices were 18 percent lower than the average prices at all surveyed stores. For meat, Trader Joe's prices were about 16 percent lower than average.

Aldi

T.A.C.T. Holding, Inc.