Trader Joe's Employee Reddit AMA Just Barrage Of Questions About Discontinued Products

An employee of Trader Joe's, America's favorite grocery store, conducted a Reddit Ask Me Anything earlier this week. This employee, who works at a store on Manhattan's Lower East Side that is the company's largest, has worked for TJ's for three years across four locations. Presumably this person had permission from Trader Joe's corporate communications team to conduct the AMA—it's hard to imagine an employee risking their job over this—so there is much praising of TJ's and discussion of just how darn happy everyone is to work there. But mostly, there's just a wave of people asking about their favorite no-longer-available products.

A few keys takeaways:

• Those popular flower bouquets are delivered daily by a floral supplier. The ones that don't sell "are donated to pantries, nursing homes, etc." Aw.
• Halloumi cheese should return to stores in "summer, hopefully."
• Is mango black tea coming back? Anyone can make product requests through Trader Joe's website, the employee responds.
• The TJ's products rotate so frequently because—shocker—those special items are what bring people through the door: "If you're asking about seasonal items and discontinuation, that has a lot to do with driving sales and trying to keep things fresh. We don't do sales (we can't, our prices are already too low) and we don't advertise. So seasonal and special items keep people coming back."
• The feta spread has reportedly been discontinued. "Unfortunately."
• TJ's products are mostly national, but some are regional, including elusive babka and hushpuppies.

If you're searching for info on a specific product, it's worth scrolling through the AMA. You could also tune in to Trader Joe's podcast, which is absolutely a show that exists.