FOOD NEWS
The 'Tasting Panel' All Trader Joe's Products Must Pass Before Hitting Shelves
By Elias Nash
Trader Joe's image hinges on unique store-branded products like cookie butter and pumpkin cream cheese, making them a destination grocery store. Since they offer a narrower selection than other stores, Trader Joe's won't slap its name onto a product until it passes through Trader Joe's secretive tasting panel.
The tasting panel is made up of a cross-section of employees, and little is known about the selection process besides that its members are chosen by higher-ups. Testing is performed in an interrogation-like environment, the idea behind this being that a positive environment could make you overlook a product's flaws.
This panel evaluates every aspect of the food, beyond just how it tastes — their input often focuses on price points, labels, and packaging. Since the grocer wants surefire hits on its shelves, items must receive at least 70% approval from panel members before advancing to the retail stage.
At most grocery stores, manufacturers must pay a “slotting fee” for shelf space, which tends to favor big food and beverage companies. Trader Joe's has no slotting fees and instead uses their tasting panel to make quality-based decisions, which works well considering they only offer about 4,000 products (versus the 50,000 products of other retailers).