The US State That's Home To The Most Trader Joe's Locations
Trader Joe's, famous for its neverending aisles of snacks, international frozen food, and some of the nicest grocery employees on earth shouting over the sound of a ship bell, is an unconventional grocery phenomenon beloved nationwide. Maybe you've gawked over $2 bottles of wine on your first trip to Trader Joe's or waited patiently each year for their vast array of delightful seasonal snacks and products. Nowadays, you can find over 587 Trader Joe's locations across the country, covering 446 cities. That's a lot of love for Trader Joe's in the US!
But no state has more Trader Joe's locations than the Golden State — California. California boasts 201 stores across the state, meaning one store for approximately every 196 thousand Californians. But that's no accident. Trader Joe's roots are in California, with a business model unlike that of other grocery greats in the US.
A humble start in California
Trader Joe's began with a small purchase of shuttered convenience stores by a man named Joe Coloumbe (Trader Joe himself!) and transformed these into a legendary California business. Trader Joe's began in the 1970s and soon proliferated, rapidly expanding throughout the state by the early '80s after the company was purchased by Theo Albrecht, a German businessman of competitor grocery chain Aldi's fame, in 1979.
In the glitz and glamor of Los Angeles, a budget-friendly grocery store took hold, becoming an iconic staple of California culture by the '90s. Trader Joe's famously limits its options to shoppers, carrying mostly Trader Joe's branded items. Unlike competitor groceries offering multiple options of the same product from separate brands, Trader Joe's products are predominantly under their private label. The store's business model involves saving money by only carrying one brand of products, then passing on the business' savings to the customer, like when Coloumbe sold extra-large eggs at Trader Joe's for the same price as normal-sized eggs.
Why Trader Joe's continues to grow nationwide today
In today's day and age, Trader Joe's has skyrocketed, reaching a cult following among loyal shoppers. Instead of the private label products limiting the company's growth, it instead made it a destination store. If you want unexpected cheddar cheese or other nostalgic curd favorites, you're going to have to go to Trader Joe's. Cherish one of their various granola varieties? You have the store's organic-forward California origins to thank.
Coulombe once described his ideal customer to the Los Angeles Times as "the overeducated and the underpaid." His target audience has surely been reached nationwide in modern times. At Trader Joe's, you can achieve the satisfying feeling of exclusivity with your food without breaking the bank. Loyal shoppers love its unique food that you can't get anywhere else, which is perfect for shoppers who like nice things and are living on a budget. New York City is the second most Trader Joe's-populous city with nine locations, with a city in the store's home state of California, Los Angeles, pulling ahead with 11. But with Trader Joe's found in 43 states and territories across the US, there's no denying the store is doing something right.