Trader Joe's Taste Test

I've been getting groceries from Trader Joe's for decades.  Back from when even Trader Joe Coloumbe himself did the radio ads.  He eventually sold the company, and the new owners expanded outside of California in 1987.  I love the stores, though I've learned from experience one big caveat:  don't wear Hawaii shirts when shopping there.  You get stopped a lot because customers think you're an employee.  Trust me on this.

I was thrilled when, after my folks moved to Glenview, Ilinois, there was a rare Chicago Trader Joes about two miles away.  I was even happier when one opened recently on my morning neighborhood-walk route.

One question I -- and I suspect many TJ customers -- have is when the company flyer describes buying some product in bulk for a Big Manufacturer, which manufacturer are they talking about?  And which other Trader Joe-brand products are doing the same thing, but just not announced?

This article in the Huffington Post Taste section resolves at least some of that.  In what seems like the first part in a series, they do taste test on 10 products that are rumored to be from Big Manufacturers.  Their results are interesting.  Several, they're absolute sure are the same -- and far less expensive.  And some they think are likely the same.  There are a few that they think are likely different, though in some cases their testers preferred the Trader Joe product.  And in almost all cases, the prices for the TJ brand products are from 50-75% less.
Check it out.