Inside Trader Joe's
Business & Finance
About
From our humble beginnings as a small chain of eclectic Southern California convenience stores, Trader Joe's has grown to become a national chain of 622 (and counting) neighborhood grocery stores, employing more than 67,000 Crew Members. How? By being comfortable with being different. Every episode takes you Inside Trader Joe's in a podcast series only Trader Joe's could deliver. Are you a Trader Joe's fan? Want to know what keeps people coming back? Hungry for all the new and exciting stuff coming to your neighborhood store? Let's go Inside Trader Joe's. Thanks for listening.
Episodes
- Episode 105: The Future of Trader Joe's Depends on These Grads
Joining us for this episode of Inside Trader Joe's is a group of Trader Joe's shoppers from the high school Class of 2026. They represent, quite literally, the future, not just for Trader Joe's, but for all of us. We chatted with them abou…
- Trader Joe's Wine Club: Sublime Springtime Sipping
Welcome to another episode of the Trader Joe's Wine Club, brought to you by Inside Trader Joe's. In this sip-sized segment, we're going big on the bottles you're going to want on your table this spring and summer. And we mean big. Literall…
- Episode 104: Inside Trader Joe's Goes Back to the Future
One-hundred-and-sixty-two years ago, we started a podcast. Well, actually, it wasn't quite that long ago. We started Inside Trader Joe's in 2018, thinking it would be a five-episode opportunity for us to tell our story from our point of vi…
- Episode 103: Trader Joe's Springs Into a Bunch of Great New Products
It's almost spring. Finally. Winter has certainly made the most of itself, and we are jumping into the opportunity to welcome this season of renewal the best way we know how – with a whole bunch of new Trader Joe's products! While deliciou…
- Episode 102: This Blonde Chocolate Walks Into Trader Joe's
Sometimes a chocolate bar is just a chocolate bar. And sometimes it's something else entirely. Sometimes it's an experience, and sometimes that experience comes with a remarkable history. Trader Joe's Blonde Bar, our first foray into the w…
- Episode 101: Trader Joe's Gets Fresh (and Deli) for 2026
At Trader Joe's, we take product quality, freshness, and value very seriously. In every part of the store, every day. So, when we sat down with a couple of our Category Managers to talk about how they approach freshness and quality, as wel…
- Episode 100: The 17th Annual Customer Choice Awards
The votes are in, and the time has come to reveal the winners of the 17th Annual Trader Joe's Customer Choice Awards! Seventeen years of celebrating our customers' favorite products, as voted by you, our customers. It's just as exciting to…
- Episode 99: The Cheesiest Episode of Inside Trader Joe's. Ever.
Eat More Cheese. This is not just a piece of advice, it's one of the New Year's Resolutions we're certain we'll be able to keep in 2026. In this episode of Inside Trader Joe's, we talk to our Category Manager for Cheese, who shares her pas…
- Episode 98: Trader Joe's Went to Sonoma And All You Get Is Some Incredible Sparkling Wine
Hard as it may be to fathom, we're headed into the home stretch, with almost an entire year in the rearview mirror. This is a time of parties and celebrations, gatherings of families and friends. All of these occasions could benefit from b…
- Episode 97: We Wish You A Trader Joe's Holiday Shopping List
Oh by golly there's a lot to discover this holiday season at your neighborhood Trader Joe's! In this episode of Inside Trader Joe's, we're sharing an inside look at just a few – okay, 16, so... several? – of our favorite finds for this fes…
- Episode 96: Trader Joe's Recipes for Thanksgiving and Beyond
There's a big holiday meal on the horizon, and Trader Joe's is here to help with all your last-minute planning. In this episode, we're sharing three of our favorite (in this moment) recipes to help make your holiday feast a rousing success…
- Trader Joe's Wine Club: What to Pour for Thanksgiving
Welcome to another episode of the Trader Joe's Wine Club, brought to you by Inside Trader Joe's. In this sip-sized segment, we have a couple of super suggestions for wines to serve for Thanksgiving. It's a big meal, filled with big flavors…
- Episode 95: Invasion of the Trader Joe's Gummies
Gummies, gummies, everywhere, and more each time we blink! Sure, it's not as poetic as Coleridge, but Trader Joe's really has upped the ante in our Gummy game – and we are here for it! Do you like the classics? We have those. You're more t…
- ICYMI: How Do Trader Joe's Products Get Their Names
We get a lot of questions at Trader Joe's. And we really love answering them. One question we get all the time is about our product names. Why are some of them just descriptive (say, Cauliflower Gnocchi) while others are decidedly silly (T…
- Episode 94: Falling in Love with a Shopping List from Trader Joe's
Is it still summer in your neck of the woods? Scorching temps and sunny skies? Call us crazy, but even when the weather is wonderful, we're hankering for the flavors of fall. And it just so happens that fall is well underway at your neighb…
- Episode 93: Time To Get Your Grill On With Trader Joe's
When the weather's warm (okay, scorching hot), and the last thing you want to do is heat up your kitchen, turning up the heat on your grill is a great way to get dinner on the table. In this episode of Inside Trader Joe's, we're going outs…
- Episode 92: Trader Joe's 2025 Store Recipe Contest Winner
It's a known known that people across the land love a good contest. It's also a known known that Trader Joe's Crew Members across the country know the very best ways to use Trader Joe's products. The known unknown in the 2025 Store Recipe…
- Trader Joe's Wine Club: Super Summertime Sippers
Welcome to another episode of the Trader Joe's Wine Club, brought to you by Inside Trader Joe's. In this sip-sized segment, we're going all-in on super sippers for summertime soirees, with bottles you may have missed in our wine section; w…
- Episode 91: The Trader Joe's Superbly Sensational Summertime Shopping List
Here comes summer! And Trader Joe's is READY. There's nothing summerier than watermelon, and we are wading in 'em – the yellow variety, and the marshmallow variety. Have a listen, and this will make sense. A skincare set to give you a litt…
- ICYMI: Why is Trader Joe's Ice Cream So Good?
We get a lot of questions at Trader Joe's. And we really love answering them. Especially when it means we get to eat ice cream. For research. To all those who ask what makes Trader Joe's ice cream so special, we say, all the things! It sta…
- Episode 90: Trader Joe's Goes to Italy and Gets Sauced
Imagine a small town in western Italy, home to a family-owned company that got its start canning fresh fruits and veggies more than 80 years ago. Now imagine that company in 2025, still owned by the same family, and still preserving the fl…
- Episode 89: Hey Chicago, What's In Your Trader Joe's Shopping Cart?
In this episode of Inside Trader Joe's, we're taking you inside our customers' shopping carts to find out what keeps them coming back to Trader Joe's again and again. For this edition of our Customer Cart Conversations, we go to Trader Joe…
- Trader Joe's Wine Club: Rosé for All the Days
Welcome to another episode of the Trader Joe's Wine Club, brought to you by Inside Trader Joe's. This sip-sized segment has us blushing a bit. Because, of course, we're talking about Rosé. Contrary to the opinions of some, Rosé is a seriou…
- Episode 88: Trader Joe's Goes to Modena, with Vim and Vinegar
There are certain foods that are synonymous with their place names. Parmigianno Reggiano. Kalamata Olives. And the focus of this episode, Balsamic Vinegar of Modena. A world-renowned product with a long and fascinating history, Balsamic Vi…
- ICYMI: Does Trader Joe's Do Retail Media?
We get a lot of questions at Trader Joe's. And we see things in the news that make us ask questions, too. Recently, we've seen a bunch of stories about so-called "Retail Media." So what the heck is Retail Media, and does Trader Joe's do it…
- Episode 87: A List for Springtime Shopping at Trader Joe's
It's nearly spring. And at Trader Joe's, that means new products popping up like flower buds after an early thaw. In this episode of Inside Trader Joe's, we're getting up close and personal with a baker's dozen of our favorite new (and ret…
- Trader Joe's Wine Club: Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand
Welcome to another episode of the Trader Joe's Wine Club, brought to you by Inside Trader Joe's. In this sip-sized segment, we're going grass-roots – or at the very least, grass-noted – with a conversation about New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc…
- Episode 86: Pie-ning for Pizza at Trader Joe's
We often talk about traveling the world to find the most delicious products we can offer, so we can bring them to our customers at a great value. Decades ago, when we began our search for truly excellent frozen pizza, it occurred to us tha…
- Episode 85: The 16th Annual Trader Joe's Customer Choice Awards
The votes are in, and the time has come to reveal the winners of the 16th Annual Trader Joe's Customer Choice Awards! Sixteen years of celebrating our customers' favorite products, as voted by you, our customers. It's just as exciting to u…
- Episode 84: Trader Joe's Snacky Hacks for Big Games and Awards Consideration
As listeners of this podcast know, the Trader Joe's mothership is located in Monrovia, CA. Monrovia is really close to one of the wildfires that's devastated Southern California recently. We have a lot of Crew Members and customers who've…
- Trader Joe's Wine Club: Champagne for NYE and Beyond
We're back with another episode of the Trader Joe's Wine Club, brought to you by Inside Trader Joe's. In this seasonally inspired sip-sized segment, we're focusing on those most festive wines, the sparklers. Focusing in even further, we're…
- Episode 83: Inside the Trader Joe's Holiday Tasting Panel, vol. 2
Every year, just as most of our holiday decorations are packed away and the world is focused on winter's snowscapes and the coming thaw of spring, the product development teams at Trader Joe's are laser-focused on the holidays, nearly a fu…
- Episode 82: It's the Most Wonderful Trader Joe's Shopping List of the Year
The Holiday Season is truly the most festive time of year at your neighborhood Trader Joe's, with hundreds of celebration-worthy products making appearances on our shelves for a limited time. In this episode of Inside Trader Joe's, we're m…
- TJ's Wine Club: Wine for Thanksgiving 2024
Welcome to the premiere episode of the Trader Joe's Wine Club, brought to you by Inside Trader Joe's. There's no membership fee and no shipping charges – and that's because this isn't an actual Wine Club. In these occasional, sippable epis…
- Episode 81: What We're Wine-ing About at Trader Joe's
Trader Joe's has been a destination for winning wine finds since our earliest days, and more than 57 years into our journey, our stores remain a source of tremendous values on wines from the world's best growing regions. In this episode of…
- Episode 80: What Makes a Neighborhood Trader Joe's?
We all know that every neighborhood is unique. And because Trader Joe's is a national chain of neighborhood grocery stores, every Trader Joe's is as unique as the neighborhood of which it is a part. In this episode of Inside Trader Joe's,…
- ICYMI: How Do I Get a Trader Joe's in My Neighborhood
We get a lot of questions at Trader Joe's. One of those we hear the most is, "Hey, when are you opening a store in my neighborhood?" And "How do you decide where to put a Trader Joe's?" – that comes up a lot, too. As you can imagine, like…
- Episode 79: What's In Your Trader Joe's Shopping Cart
In this episode of Inside Trader Joe's, we're taking you inside our customers' shopping carts to find out what keeps them coming back to Trader Joe's again and again. For this inaugural iteration of our Customer Cart Conversations, we go t…
- Episode 78: Fall Into the Season with a Shopping List from Trader Joe's
It's September at Trader Joe's. That, of course, means the Pumpkin-palooza is underway. You'll find more than 70 pumpkin-forward products on our shelves this season – including new entries like Pumpkin Spice Cold Brew Coffee Concentrate an…
- Episode 77: Trader Joe's Goes Back to School with Chocolate and Mustard
When we think about back-to-school, we immediately think of chocolate and mustard. (Doesn't everyone?) Specifically, we think of Belgian chocolate and Dijon Mustard. Just in time for back-to-school shopping – as well as classes like Histor…
- ICYMI: What Do the Bells Mean at Trader Joe's?
Do you ever feel like you're hearing things when you're shopping at Trader Joe's? You're not alone. The bells are ringing at Trader Joe's – nearly all the time. They act as a kind of intercom system, and they keep us attuned to what's happ…
- Episode 76: Growing People at Trader Joe's
When you ask folks why they shop at Trader Joe's, they'll usually mention the "Three Ps" – Products, Prices, and People. In this episode of Inside Trader Joe's, we're diving deep into the third P – People. As we continue to open more store…
- Episode 75: Trader Joe's Store Recipe Contest Winner
Fact number one: nothing generates excitement like a contest. Fact number two: when we announced our Store Recipe Contest, we could not have predicted the level of excitement it would generate. Fact number three: the Crew Members in our st…
- ICYMI: How Do I Find Great Trader Joe's Recipes
Looking for something interesting – and easy to prepare – for dinner? An appetizer to wow a crowd? A cocktail or mocktail to satisfy even the most critical companion? Or even a creative way to use up the very last bits of peanut butter or…
- Episode 74: A List for Summertime Shopping at Trader Joe's
Trader Joe's is ready for summer! Our shelves, freezers, refrigerators, and bakery racks are brimming with new and returning favorites to make the season really shine. Bet you didn't know you needed Eggs & Bacon Gummies… but you do. And yo…
- ICYMI: How Does Trader Joe's Set Prices (Spoiler Alert: It's About Value)
At Trader Joe's, we more or less obsess over value, that magical place where top quality and excellent prices meet. From Olive Oil to Almonds, and a few thousand other products in between, we do the work to ensure we're offering the best p…
- Episode 73: Trader Joe's Air Fryer Faves
The air fryer. Depending on who you listen to, it's either the best thing to hit kitchens since the microwave, or it's a silly waste of space. Once you listen to this episode of Inside Trader Joe's, we think you'll be happy to walk into th…
- ICYMI: What's Up With Trader Joe's Mini Tote Bags
Mini Tote Bags? Those are a thing? Apparently, yes. And we knew we loved them – that's why we decided to sell them. We absolutely did not predict how much our customers would love them. So what's up with these adorable little tote-lets? Tu…
- Episode 72: It's Springtime for Shopping List at Trader Joe's
Ah, spring. Birds singing, trees blooming, and products arriving, at your neighborhood Trader Joe's. In this episode of Inside Trader Joe's, we're getting up close and personal with some of our favorite new and returning products for sprin…
- Episode 71: Inside – And Outside – Trader Joe's in Providence, RI
There are things that tie every Trader Joe's together – delicious products, terrific everyday prices, and phenomenal Crew Members to name a few. Yet every store is also different. How can they all be different? That's easy – we're a neighb…