Kera Periwinkle

Review of Trader Joe's

Fun fact: Aldi owns Trader Joe's. And while Aldi ...

Fun fact: Aldi owns Trader Joe's. And while Aldi (in the US) sucks, TJ's doesn't! LOL

My family and I love Trader Joe's. The staff are usually knowledgeable and very friendly. The store is always super clean. They do the little things like ask if you need help out to your car, which typically isn't the case with the larger supermarket chains.

Pros:
-Food sampling every day, along with fresh hot coffee.
-They donate their unused foods to nonprofit organizations that feed the poor.
-A+ quality and selection.
-Super competitive prices for such great stuff.

HOWEVER! There are some cons:
-Many items are seasonal, like condensed milk (Say what?! Condensed milk, esp by Asians for our coffee is used year-round!).
-They are known to strongarm the little guys when it comes to products they like. For example, they'll test your product out in their stores. If it sells well, they'll only continue to keep it if they can rebrand it as their own. It's all or nothing and for a small company trying to make it, it's a tough decision.
-Their hours aren't as flexible as the large chain stores with the competition sometimes opening 24 hours.

Since they've moved to their new location in Pasadena, I don't frequent them as much as I've used to. The new location is great, though. Parking can be a little tougher now since they share the lot in a busy plaza but the store is larger than before. I don't feel like they carry more stuff than the previous location. It's just far less claustrophobic.