Trader Joe’s might actually be worth it over real items.

Trader Joe’s is a grocery store chain with 569 locations all around the U.S. It was originally founded in 1958 by Joe Coulombe and was renamed to Trader Joe’s in 1967. Trader Joe’s is known for selling their own branded items based off of popular items sold at bigger chain grocery stores, usually for cheaper price. But do the Trader Joe’s knock-offs taste better than the real thing?

I tested five items, Trader Joe’s and the real thing, to see which was better. I got the real items at Safeway in Menlo Park, and the Trader Joe’s items at a Trader Joe’s in San Carlos. The items were the Trader Joe’s tub of peanut butter cups ($4.99), compared to a king size Reese’s ($2.49). The Trader Joe’s frozen mac and cheese ($2.99) compared to frozen Lean Cuisine mac and cheese ($4.49). The Trader Joe’s vanilla bean yogurt ($0.99) compared to Yoplait vanilla yogurt ($0.99). The Trader Joe’s Oreo’s, called Joe Joe’s ($2.99), compared to Oreo’s (12 pack, $8.99). Finally, the Trader Joe’s mint chocolate chip ice cream ($4.99) compared to Tillamook mint chocolate chip ice cream ($7.49). 

The items from the Safeway cost $24.45 all together, while the Trader Joe’s haul came out to only $16.95.

I first tested the frozen mac and cheese. The directions for the Trader Joe’s mac and cheese were to microwave on high for 3-4 minutes, and let it stand for one minute. After eating, I gave it a 7/10. I really like how cheesy it was through every bite, not losing its flavor. The Lean Cuisine mac and cheese was different, and not in a good way. The directions for the mac and cheese was to microwave on high for three minutes, stir, then cook for another 1 minute and 30 seconds. Looking at the Lean Cuisine, it looked and smelled way cheesier than Trader Joe’s, but when I tried it, it actually had less cheese flavor. The first few bites started off with a little bit of cheesy flavor, but then it became bland, with no flavor to it. I rated it a 4/10.

Next, I tried the yogurts. The Trader Joe’s yogurt was vanilla bean, and when I tried it, I noticed it was pretty thick. It wasn’t that sweet, but I still enjoyed it. I gave the Trader Joe’s yogurt a 6.5/10. Next was the Yoplait vanilla yogurt. When I tried it, it was thinner than the Trader Joe’s, and it was sweeter. I thought it was better than the Trader Joe’s yogurt, so I gave it an 8/10.

I then tried the peanut butter cups. The Trader Joe’s peanut butter cups were small, but to make up for it, they came in a medium sized tub that weighed a total weight of 16 ounces. After trying one, they were definitely good, and it has more of a chocolaty taste that overpowers the peanut butter. I gave them an 8/10. The Reese’s on the other hand were the opposite. They were bigger, because they were king size, and the peanut butter overpowers the chocolate, it makes the candy saltier. I’ve noticed that a little bit of salt and chocolate actually go well together. I also really, really like Reese’s. I gave them a 9/10. The only complaint I have about the Trader Joe’s items was that I wish that the peanut butter cups were a bit bigger.

Up next were the Oreos. This was a close race, like the peanut butter cups. I first tried the Trader Joe’s Oreos, called Joe Joe’s. They were good, something I noticed was there was a little more frosting in the middle compared to normal Oreos although it wasn’t much of a difference. However, upon trying the Joe Joe’s, it tasted like it was a double stuffed Oreo. The frosting flavor overpowered the chocolate flavor. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, I liked that there was a lot of frosting, but that was basically it. I gave Joe Joe’s a 7.5/10. Next was the Oreos. Oreos are my favorite cookies, other than chocolate chip cookies. The taste of the Oreos was the opposite of the Joe Joe’s, instead of more of a frosting flavor, there was more of a chocolate flavor. I gave the Oreo’s an 8.5/10.

Finally, the ice cream. I first tried Trader Joe’s mint chocolate chip ice cream. I noticed the large quantity of chocolate chips it had in it. Almost every bite was overtaken by chocolate, and I loved it. It overpowered the mint taste. I gave it an 8/10. Lastly, the Tillamook mint chocolate chip. This one was a little disappointing. It was still good, but it didn’t have as many chocolate chips as the Trader Joe’s ice cream had. I had a whole scoop of the ice cream with little to no chocolate chips. Due to that, there was more of a mint flavor. It was still good, though, so I gave it a 6.5/10.

That gives Trader Joes a total score of 37/50, and the real items a 36/50. So comparing the scores and prices of the food, Trader Joe’s branded items are better than real items, in my opinion.