6 Items Trader Joe's Has Discontinued This Summer
This favorite neighborhood grocery store has a place in many customers' hearts because of its affordable prices, smiling crew members, and most of all, prolific product offerings. At the turn of each season, you can count on finding a handful of brand-new items to fill your cart with. Every store trip is a scavenger hunt for your next must-have seasoning, snack, or sweet treat.
But there's a dark side to all the innovation: product turnover. There can be many reasons that Trader Joe's items get discontinued. Sometimes a product was always created to be a limited release. Other times, some things don't sell well, and the shelf space is reclaimed for foods with a brighter future. And occasionally, even popular items get the boot, due to supply or production complications.
Whatever the reason, it's a sad day to see your grocery regulars disappear. If any of these six items were on your list, you can cross them out – forever.
Chili & Lime Flavored Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips
One of the downsides of shopping at Trader Joe's is that, because it sells only private-label foods and snacks, you often have to make a separate trip for your name-brand staples. Luckily, you'll find lots of great store brand dupes that you might like even more than the original. Like these Takis stand-ins—until now.
Unfortunately, the Rolled Corn Tortilla Chips are being taken off shelves. Some stores have had the item out of stock for a while, but it's still a tough blow to fans of the spicy snack. On Reddit, shoppers were shocked. One fan commented, "How?? These were runner up for 2022 customer awards favorite snack!!" Others speculated that the supplier was to blame.
However, it's possible that some locations still carry the Takis substitute. An employee commented that discontinuation "may vary by region." So you may have to ask your nearby store for official confirmation.
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Pet Food
Production issues strike again for a few of Trader Joe's animal eats—and this time, it's for good. Back in April, the company released a statement that some canned pet foods would no longer be sold due to inconsistent supply issues.
This includes Ocean Fish, Salmon & Rice Dinner Premium Cat Food, Turkey & Giblets Dinner Premium Cat Food, Grain Free Salmon Recipe Cat Food, and Grain Free Turkey Recipe Cat Food for the felines, as well as Grain Free Beef Recipe Dog Food and Grain Free Chicken Recipe Dog Food for the pups. You can still find pet food in the aisles, though. It just might not be your furry friend's favorite.
Red Refresh Herbal Tea
Trader Joe's has a wide assortment of caffeinated and herbal teas—but this one's not an option anymore. Customers stopped seeing the Red Refresh Herbal Tea in stores back in June. Frequent buyers especially enjoyed the hibiscus, lemongrass, and peppermint blend as an iced tea, according to this Reddit post. Others commented that Tazo Passion Tea could be a good replacement.
Dark Russet Potato Chips
TJ's reportedly marked these snacks as "endangered" a few months ago, ahead of the
The reason behind the discontinuation is debated. On Reddit, many say they picked up a bag of these every time they came into the store, but one employee reported that the love for the chips wasn't universal. "At my store, they're consistently one of the worst-selling potato chips. Maybe the worst seller," one user commented.
If dark russet potato chips are a must for your household, don't worry. Others mentioned that you can find similar (and maybe even better) chips from Cape Cod or Utz until you discover your next snack aisle fave.
Popcorn in a Pickle
Another snack bites the dust with this tangy-flavored twist. Instagram account @traderjoestobediscontinued announced in June that customers would be seeing the last bags on the shelves soon enough. Fans protested in the comments, lamenting the loss of this low-calorie creation. But while dill pickle + popcorn is a zany food combination, it's not hard to come by.
The Instagram account highlighted the new ALDI Pickle Popcorn you can use as a substitute. Or, if all else fails, they suggested a DIY: plain popcorn with a few shakes of the Seasoning in a Pickle blend, which Trader Joe's still carries in its spice aisle.
Cultured Salted Butter
This is true hardship – saying goodbye to this artisanal French butter. In mid-August, one Redditor posted that their store had discontinued the premium spread. What made this butter so good? The process for crafting cultured butter achieves unparalleled creaminess through the lengthy churning process, making it, as Trader Joe's puts it: "Lightly salted, pleasantly tart, enviably creamy." And now it's gone…
Or is it? It's hard to say if the butter is erased from the product catalog or simply facing supply challenges. Shoppers found it tough to get their hands on it, as it seemed spotty in stores. But TJ's fan blog Trader Joe's Rants & Raves saw the Cultured Salted Butter make a comeback appearance in the same month. They did, however, say that the product sign was missing, so we're still getting mixed signals.
We can always cross our fingers that this item is sticking around, but you'd be wise to pick up a few for the freezer, just in case.
