Since its founding in 1967, beloved grocery chain Trader Joe’s has expanded from a small handful of stores in California to nearly 600 locations from coast to coast. TJ’s has accumulated a loyal fan base along the way, and for good reason: The store’s products are relatively affordable, its staff is friendly and attentive, and it carries items you won’t find anywhere else. Sure, it has fridge staples like milk, OJ, and eggs. But it also boasts an array of whimsical, Trader Joe’s-brand offerings like cookie butter, Cacio e Pepe Puffs, cauliflower gnocchi, and Thanksgiving stuffing-seasoned kettle chips.
Many of these TJ’s-exclusive products have developed their own cult followings on social media, and you’ll find TikTok accounts entirely dedicated to the brand’s signature seasonal drops. But even with the store’s relatively coy stock list — about 4,000 products per location, a light selection compared to more typical grocery chains — there are countless underrated products that fly under the radar for most customers. To discover some of the best sleeper hits TJ’s has to offer, we asked 21 Trader Joe’s employees, a.k.a. crew members, about the products they feel deserve more love. (To protect our sources’ privacy, we’ve withheld their names and the stores they’re employed at. Every employee consulted has been with the company for at least two years, and many have worked there much longer.)
And we’re not talking about the frozen soup dumplings or the everything bagel seasoning here — these are the deep cuts. Let’s dive
