Where Does Trader Joe's Ice Cream Really Come From?

As anyone who has shopped at Trader Joe's knows, the grocery chain does not traffic in most of the name brands that other stores sell. You will not be able to get Doritos or Kraft Mac and Cheese at Trader Joe's; while some name brands are in use, like Walker's Shortbread, these are the exception rather than the rule. (There are more than a few dupes, or copycat products, like the Chili and Lime Flavored Rolled Tortilla Chips, the Trader Joe's Hall of Fame entrant that are, essentially, Takis.) So it can be fun to play detective, tasting what snacks Trader Joe's has on offer and trying to guess the identity of their sources. Take Trader Joe's ice cream, for instance. Where does that come from? It depends on the ice cream, but signs point to TJ's sharing a supplier with Costco.

According to Reddit, many of Trader Joe's ice cream flavors are believed to come from Crystal Creameries, which also does business as Humboldt Creameries. Located in Humboldt County, California, the farmers take advantage of the beautiful climate (not to mention the lovely grass for cows to graze upon) to set up the ideal environment for dairy making. (California is agriculturally blessed in that way.) If the name sounds familiar, it's because Humboldt Creameries is also responsible for Kirkland's ice cream. And if you're lucky enough to have a cousin work for Humboldt (as one Instagram post shared), you can even get some of the Banana Pudding Ice Cream straight from the source.

Not all of Trader Joe's ice cream comes from Crystal/Humboldt — their Cookie Butter Ice Cream, for instance, is believed to come from Pierre's, a Cleveland, Ohio-based ice cream company. (Again, according to Reddit.) But perhaps your hackles are already raised. You probably knew, logically, that there was no mythical, jolly Trader Joe working in a warehouse churning vats full of ice cream, but hearing about exactly what supplier sends goodies to TJ's is a little like seeing Mickey Mouse with his head off on his lunch break at Disneyland. Doesn't it feel like someone's getting one over on you somehow?

Well, that's not really the case. Trader Joe's uses private label brands because that's what helps keep their prices so low (as well as their habit of discontinuing all your favorite products). Some private label brands are better than others, of course (here are the seven best and four worst), but there's nothing inherently nefarious about making use of them. And it certainly doesn't make their ice cream slap any less.