How Trader Joe’s Can Emerge from COVID-19 As The Greatest of All-Time (G.O.A.T.) Grocery Chain

The following post is not a paid promotion or endorsement.

Despite our changed COVID-19 reality, there’s one thing that remains constant…our need for food. While some may depend on takeout or even growing their food, there’s a high likelihood that you or someone in your household will be thinking about, planning for, or venturing out to do some grocery shopping in the near future. Last week, it was time for me to restock on groceries, so I put on my mask and ventured out to one of my favorite grocery store chains, Trader Joe’s. Founded in California in 1967 by a man named Joe, Trader Joe’s has earned a cult-like following over the last decade.

Why do I and so many others love Trader Joe’s so much? I’d say it’s a combination of their high quality one-of-a-kind products, crazy affordable prices that are generally 16% lower than other grocery stores, and customer service with a genuine personal touch. I’ve always been impressed with Trader Joe’s fundamental value proposition based on their products, people, and pricing, but seeing their COVID-19 safety measures during my most recent visit, made me realize that Trader Joe’s has the potential to earn the title of G.O.A.T., greatest grocer of all time.

While some may argue that Trader Joe’s has already reached G.O.A.T. status, I see some room for growth. Below, I go in depth into Trader Joe’s fundamental strengths (Product, People, and Pricing), their new COVID safety measures, and an opportunity for them to emerge from COVID-19 as the greatest grocery store of all time by expanding into minority communities .

Products

You can’t start a discussion about Trader Joe’s without talking about their products. In fact, if you’ve ever heard someone rant about how great Trader Joe’s is, they probably began by talking about an amazing specialty product that can only be purchased at Trader Joe’s. Whether it’s cookie butter (a delicious biscoff-cookie-flavored spread), or a 10-minute frozen bag meal that tastes like your favorite takeout restaurant at a fraction of the price and risk, Trader Joe’s products have become even more vital now that we’re spending so much time at home.

Here are some of my favorite products (Bonus: Click here to download a free Trader Joe’s shopping list I created): 

1. Undeniably Delicious Frozen Foods: In my humble opinion, Trader Joe’s has some of the best frozen foods I’ve ever tasted, and they’re clearly cheaper than frozen items at other grocery stores. Frozen meals are a quick and easy way to make lunch or dinner in minutes with little prep and minimal cleanup. Some of my go-tos include:

   • Chinese take-out replacements: Mandarin orange chicken, BBQ chicken teriyaki, the mildly sweet and spicy beef and broccoli, and chicken fried rice. I typically serve the first three with minute rice and bam! Dinner or lunch is served.

   • Indian take-out replacements: Chicken Tikka Masala (just buy it and I promise you’ll thank me later), vegetable panang curry, and butter chicken with basmati rice

   • Italian take-out replacements: Mushroom and Black Truffle Flatbread (decadent but so damn delicious), roasted vegetable lasagna (a little pricier than other items but also feeds more people), fettuccine with mushrooms, and stacked eggplant parmesan

   • Hamburger Helpers: If you’re looking for some frozen meat patties to jazz up your ordinary burger, look no further than Trader Joe’s frozen food aisle. From the turkey burgers and chili lime chicken burgers, to the salmon burgers and mahi burgers (which I like to complement with my favorite seafood seasonings or marinades), their frozen burger patty options are the truth! 

   • Desserts: So, I’ve hated chocolate my entire life (Yes, I know it’s weird…), so I haven’t truly been able to enjoy all the amazing frozen desserts Trader Joe’s offers. However, their macarons, which are also found in the frozen aisle, are one of my all-time favorites. They’re $4.99 for a dozen and allow you to imagine yourself enjoying each bite in a quaint little pastry shop an hour outside of Paris. Don’t we need more food like this in our lives right now? Oui. Oui. 

2. Tasty Yet Budget Friendly Wine : I first discovered Trader Joe’s in college when I was introduced to Charles Shaw wine, or ‘2 buck chuck’. Yes, for just $1.99, you could have your pick of a regular sized bottle of decent red or white wine. While my wine taste has evolved since then, Trader Joe’s still has a large collection of inexpensive, yet tasty wines that I enjoy.

3. Crazy Affordable Organic Fresh Produce: Another area where Trader Joe’s shines is their fresh produce. Not only do they have a good variety of items, but their organic and non-organic fruits and vegetables are also typically cheaper than their competitors. While there are some who say Trader Joe’s produce doesn’t stay fresh as long as other grocers, that hasn’t been my experience to-date. 

4. Snacks and Munchies: It would take multiple posts to describe the variety of chips, popcorns, and dips Trader Joe’s offers, but here are my top 5 absolute must-haves: 

   • Speculoos Cookie Butter: Think about buying a jar of peanut butter only to find out that someone replaced the peanuts with those delicious biscoff cookies they give away on Delta Airline flights. There are so many different ways to enjoy this finger-licking good spread, but my favorite is dripped over apple slices, or fresh strawberries 

   • Restaurant Style Tortilla chips: I’d put Trader Joe’s restaurant style tortilla chips head-to-head against any other grocery store’s tortilla chips. Heat them up in the microwave for 10 to 15 seconds and you’d swear they came straight out of your favorite Mexican restaurant.

   • Roasted Plantain chips: Delicious and a great snack for little people; can easily be paired with guacamole, queso, or any of your favorite dips 

   • Spinach and artichoke dip: While this is technically in the frozen food aisle, I placed it here because it epitomizes the very essence of an appetizer or snack. Warm the dip up in the microwave per instructions on packaging, and garnish with grated parmesan. Serve with pita chips, tortilla chips, or crackers. It’s crazy delicious. Nothing more to say.

   • Rhubarb and Strawberry soda: So this isn’t a snack per se, but I couldn’t end our product list without shouting out one of my fizzy indulgences and the perfect addition to any mocktail or cocktail. It’s great by itself, and can be used to create a simplified twist on the strawberry mojito. Bottoms up! 

Pricing

Beyond products, what makes Trader Joe’s value proposition so compelling, particularly during this time, are its prices. At most grocers, you have to pay a premium for quality; however, at Trader Joe’s, that isn’t always the case. You can easily get quality, uniqueness, and affordability all in one place, and often from one item. Why is that, you ask? 80% of Trader Joe’s products are made for its private label, which means their supply chain costs are much lower, allowing them to pass these cost savings on to consumers. 

People

While their products and pricing help Trader Joe’s stand out amongst their competition, many would argue that their strongest attribute is their people. As a proud customer, I would describe Trader Joe’s culture in one word, community. From their friendly cashiers to their crew members passing out samples with a smile, they seem like they’ve cracked the code on how to keep their employees engaged, productive, and seemingly satisfied, which is increasingly comforting and pretty inspiring during times like these. 

Safety Precautions

Products, pricing, and people have always been integral to Trader Joe’s value proposition; however, I’ve been extremely impressed by how thoroughly Trader Joe’s has adapted to our “COVID-19 new normal” with updated safety precautions. While all businesses are taking additional precautions to help ensure safety amid the constant threat of COVID-19, Trader Joe’s was one of the few grocery stores that made me feel like they’re taking the precautions because they genuinely care, and not as a check-the-box license to operate. I’m not sure if it’s the fact they limit the number of shoppers inside the store, have a strict separation of clean and used grocery carts, or the sight of crew members walking the aisles wiping down items, but they’ve created a level of safety/security that I’ve rarely felt in public since COVID-19 became a reality.

Path to Greatness

While Trader’s Joe’s value proposition is defined by a combination of superior quality, uniqueness, community, and affordability, for its entire history, Trader Joe’s has been a luxury reserved for the educated, privileged, and disproportionately white subset of America that happens to live in one of the high-income areas where the company sets up shop. But, what if Trader Joe’s opened stores in underserved communities of color, helping to combat the countless food deserts across this country? Not only would this provide families in these communities with access to quality, healthy, and affordable food, it would also provide earners in these communities with practical training on customer-centric management, operations and service. While it may sound a little crazy, if done right and in combination with other policies in support of their crew members’ safety and the broader fight for a more just future, Trader Joe’s could send a powerful message and show that they believe in and stand for something far bigger than just paper and green ink.

I’d like to close on a note of gratitude and action...

Trader Joe’s, I appreciate you. I appreciate your products. I appreciate your crew members, and I appreciate the fact that you’re not charging me an arm, leg, and kidney for a bag of avocados. Most of all, during a time when community and public spaces have become synonymous with danger and illness, I appreciate the added safety, communal solidarity and consciousness I felt when I walked into your store.

So Trader Joe’s, consider this a call to action. I implore you to share your shopping experience of empathy and dignity and demonstration of community and love with people who need it most: people living in food deserts across this country who don’t have access to healthy yet inexpensive organic produce and quick meal options; people who would tremendously value and benefit the jobs, skills and employee experience you offer, and people who, just like you and I, want simply to feel their lives, basic needs, and futures matter. During a time of unprecedented uncertainty and fear, you have a transformative opportunity to model a much-needed form of social innovation that pushes us forward as a country and society by championing equality and community. While it may sound idealistic, I believe we can help create a clearer path for these underserved communities to achieve a more just and hopeful future, one grocery store, one policy, and one person at a time.

So what do I need from you as a reader?

• Support the fight to ensure equal access to quality nutritious foods by clicking here to sign a petition asking Trader Joe’s to make plans to open at least two stores in the next 18 months in underserved, minority communities.

• If you know others who would value the information listed above and feel comfortable holding our corporations to a higher level of accountability for people over profits, then share this post and ask others to sign the petition. 

If you enjoyed this post and would like more information on being intentional with your life, join my mailing list for updates and check out my posts on value and goal-based living, intentional self-care, childcare and development, and relationships.