Cheaper and less pretentious than Whole Foods, nicer and with more personality than Kroger or any other local supermarket, Trader Joe’s has long held its place as a beloved U.S. grocery store.
Its founder, Joe Coulombe, died Feb. 28 at age 89, but the chain he created will live on for some time. There are 500 Trader Joe’s stores in 42 states plus the District of Columbia. The grocery store is so popular in the United States and abroad that a few years ago, one man smuggled copious amounts of Trader Joe’s merchandise to Canada. Got to get that “Two-Buck Chuck,” eh?
Trader Joe’s is known not just for its cheap wine but also for its specialty products, from its Everything but the Bagel Sesame Seasoning Blend to its brand of Swedish Fish, called Scandinavian Swimmers. By packing almost all of its products with its own Trader Joe’s brand, it’s able to ensure quality and low prices. If you know anything about Trader Joe’s, you probably know it for that reason (and for the Hawaiian T-shirts usually worn by its employees).
The first Trader Joe’s opened in Pasadena, California, in 1967. For the past half-century, the store has served a market that has only grown: childless and unmarried millennials. Single-serving frozen meals and 2-pound packs of chicken may not help a family of four, but they’re perfect for the young and unattached.
As of last year, more than half of 18- to 34-year-olds in the U.S. had no steady partner, and this trend matches another one that promises small households: Women are having fewer children. Supermarkets that sell items in bulk, such as Costco and Sam’s Club, find loyal customers in large families who can shell out for an annual membership in return for significant savings on gallon tubs of Nutella and bags of sockeye salmon.
For the majority of millennials who don’t have children, Trader Joe’s fits the bill nicely. That’s something a lot of them can toast to, especially with a $1.99 bottle of merlot.
