Why Trader Joe's Always Seems To Discontinue Your Favorite Products

After a decade of shopping at Trader Joe's (don't skip these must-have items!), the biggest thing we've learned is not to get too attached to any one product. Through the years, there's been a handful of instances where we've made this mistake, only to find items suddenly missing from the shelves, like the Chocolate Hummus and the Burrata Filling. But the most heinous offender was the discontinuation of the Shakshuka Starter found in the frozen section (if you know, you know).

According to a Trader Joe's ICYMI podcast, a product's disappearance rarely has anything to do with consumer popularity. On one episode, Matt Sloan, Vice President of Marketing at Trader Joe's, shared that, "If you don't have high volume or growing volume, the costs of producing and handling a slow-selling product are such that it doesn't make business sense for us." Basically, if a product is immensely popular with customers but doesn't add to the company's bottom line, it's likely to be discontinued. Other factors influencing a product's fate include the size of each store — which is smaller than standard grocery stores — and the cost of shelf space.

Some of the reasons the heartache of discontinued items hits so hard are because of the value, flavor, convenience, and simplicity that they add to the meal-making process. For example, the fan-favorite Speculoos Cookie Butter Cheesecake Bites were a perfectly sweet addition to a dessert table, without having to actually do much more than thaw them from the freezer. Other discontinued frozen favorites, like the Hi-Protein Veggie Burger, Banana Waffles, and Cioppino Seafood Stew, basically guaranteed that you could heat up a delicious meal in less than 30 minutes without having to dirty every dish in the kitchen. You can still find Trader Joe's pre-marinated meats, which makes grilling quick and tasty.

Although these products may be gone, there's a good possibility that Trader Joe's will release something else that is just as scrumptious. Or, you might have to find a new favorite snack from among this list of underrated but delightful snacks. A word to the wise: If you love a product, stock your pantry (or fridge, or freezer) as long as supplies last.