What Happened To Trader Joe's Honey Butter Potato Chips?
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If you were shopping at Trader Joe's in 2017, you'd run across a pretty thought-provoking treat in the chip section, per What's Good at Trader Joe's? Some chips are seasoned with garlic, while others are seasoned with cheddar cheese. But the unique snack we're talking about was topped with golden honey and savory butter, via Amazon. While the mere concept of putting butter and honey on this traditionally salty treat may repulse some foodies, Trader Joe's Honey Butter chips are actually wildly popular in Korea, per Vice. This is a fact that Trader Joe's, a trendy grocer that's constantly reminding the kids how hip it is, was probably banking on when it brought its own version of the snack to its store shelves.
And for some Trader Joe's shoppers, these unconventional chips were, in fact, a hit. Aside from having a 4.7 rating on Amazon, many customers on Trader Joe's Reviews couldn't get enough of the stuff. Two users even went as far as to claim that the unusual treat was the best bag of chips they'd ever eaten. But despite the Honey Butter Potato Chips' rave reviews, if you were to go into a Trader Joe's location one year later, you'd find that the product was no longer in stock, via Mental Floss. So what happened to this sleeper-hit snack?
Trader Joe's Honey Butter Potato Chips were discontinued
According to Mental Floss, Trader Joe's Honey Butter Potato Chips were discontinued in 2018. Mental Floss notes that these interestingly flavored Trader Joe's chips may have been loved by some, but certainly not by all. In fact, a review from PopSugar revealed that the chips were far from easy to fall in love with. Although the writer stated they did eventually grow to like the salty-sweet snack, they reported the product's flavor took quite a bit of getting used to. And a review from What's Good at Trader Joe's? was even harsher. The outlet stated it felt the chips tasted "downright odd" and that their flavor was just overall disappointing.
However, while not selling well may have been the biggest reason these honey butter chips were discontinued, there may have been another factor behind Trader Joe's decision to shelve the product. According to a user on Trader Joe's Reviews, these chips allegedly had incorrect nutrition labels. So, with that in mind, Trader Joe's likely thought it would be best to cut its losses with the product. But with so many users on Amazon and Reddit calling for the Honey Butter Potato Chip's return, will the snack ever come back?
Petition for these chip's return and enjoy some alternatives for the snack in the meantime
As luck would have it, you can actually petition Trader Joe's to bring back its discontinued honey butter chips — or any discontinued product, for that matter. You just have to fill out the handy dandy form on the "discontinued product feedback" section of its website. But if you don't want to go hungry while waiting for enough fans to rally together to (hopefully) get this product back on shelves, there are a few snacks you can eat that will fill the Trader Joe's Honey Butter Potato Chips hole in your stomach.
According to Reddit, the best stand-in for these discontinued chips is the product TJ patterned them after — Calbee Honey Butter Chips. As the user who suggested the Korean brand noted, you can find these chips (and other products from Korean companies that sell the same flavor) online or at Japanese grocers and H-Marts. However, other than buying chips imported from Korea, the only way you'll be able to savor honey butter chips is to make them yourself. According to Bear Naked Food, to recreate this snack at home you only need to pour a mixture of brown sugar, honey, salt, and butter over a batch of freshly fried potato chips. At least by making or buying alternatives to this Trader Joe's snack the idea that, despite your heartfelt petition, the store's honey butter chips may never return is much more bearable.