Trader Joe’s is beloved by all. By all, I mean students, soccer moms, snack fanatics — and me. I’ve been to every single Trader Joe’s you can get to by the T. The best: the one in Allston, where you cross the bridge and walk by the Harvard Stadium. It’s giant, has countless products and features a beautiful walk that guides customers into its wonderful doors. The worst: the one off of Copley, which happens to be the smallest Trader Joe’s in the U.S. Guess why it’s the worst!
I’ve been going to Trader Joe’s my whole life, but since coming to Tufts and living in a dorm, it’s been my lifeline for food. I’ll always go out of my way to go to a Trader Joe’s instead of walking 10 minutes to Stop & Shop. So what makes Trader Joe’s good enough to warrant all the extra work?
The answer: branding. Trader Joe’s is a marketing genius. All of their stores are presented in a tropical, “tiki-themed” style. Yes, the Americanization of polynesian culture is central to the Trader Joe’s look. Fresh produce is almost always the first thing you see when walking into the store. Trader Joe’s uses light colored wood for shelving, they rely on hand-written product labels, employees wear aloha shirts and tropical artwork spans the walls. Everything is created with this sunny, tropical aesthetic, right down to their reusable bags. Trader Joe’s also stocks its shelves with its own branded products. Besides fresh produce, almost every item is branded Trader Joe’s, unlike its grocery store competitors. Even the customer service is brandable: Everyone knows that Trader Joe’s employees are exceptionally friendly. The store is built to make customers believe they are buying from a local trader, not a national store chain. Trader Joe’s makes people feel like they are supporting a positive brand that speaks to their values: shopping local, shopping healthy, shopping fresh foods and supporting their community. Now, are those values really what Trader Joe’s is selling? Debatable. Even so, the marketing works. I’d much rather buy Trader Joe’s Original Lemonade (with pulp) than Minute Maid.
So, shopping at Trader Joes makes you feel good. What else?
Well, Trader Joe’s has great customer retention, which I believe is caused by their marketing of “exclusivity.” Trader Joe’s intentionally stocks a limited number of products on their shelves, which leads to them having a massive archive of discontinued products with cult followings. Lime Fruit Floes and cheesecake bites are beloved products missed deeply by my friends and I. Since you never know when your favorite Trader Joe’s product will disappear, there’s this buzz in the air every time you enter telling you to get it before it’s gone. Trader Joe’s also has products confined to specific regions of the United States. My favorite example of this is the oyster crackers. Once a national product, the oyster crackers disappeared from my local California store about three years ago. My dad was devastated. Then, once I moved to Boston, I was able to find the crackers again. Allegedly, the crackers were once nationally available, but are now confined to specific regions, including Massachusetts and Connecticut. Trader Joe’s promotes exclusivity with their reusable bag designs too — you can only buy certain designs in certain cities. Their store’s bags are designed to show a specific city’s landmarks, like the Space Needle in Seattle or the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
We can’t escape the topic of exclusivity without talking about Trader Joe’s holiday-specific products. Those gluten free pumpkin pancake mixes are bought en masse for my house every year.
Everything about Trader Joe’s aesthetic and marketing invites customers in, but there are also practical reasons for everyone, especially students, to love Trader Joe’s. Besides the absolutely delicious and easily-shareable snacks, Trader Joe’s is cheap. I’m able to buy groceries and snacks that last me at least three weeks for around $50. The portion sizes are also small, so it’s easy to shop for one person. I never find myself throwing away food I didn’t eat in time.
Is Trader Joe’s perfect? No. Is the marketing a little manipulative? Sure. Is there a cult surrounding Trader Joe’s? If there is, I’m probably a part of it. The products are delicious, and so worth the extra effort it takes for me to get to a store. Trader Joe’s is somewhere I’m willing to structure my day around going to. It’s a destination to be enjoyed, not a chore to visit. One thing is certain — I’ll get my butt on the T for a two-hour Trader Joe’s run any day.
