[13][14] Coulombe believed that the original Pronto Markets were too similar to 7-Eleven, which he described as the "800-pound gorilla of convenience stores", and was concerned that the competition would be too heavy.

[19] Coulombe noted two trends in the US that informed the merchandising of his new store concept: one, the number of college-educated people was rising steadily, partly due to the G.I.

[24] Dan Bane retired as the CEO in July 2023 and was succeeded by Bryan Palbaum, previously the company's COO and president.

[29] Some store locations have their own "find the mascot", and children can obtain stickers and lollipops when they tell a staff member where it is "hiding”.

[32] In 2022, the typical Trader Joe's customer was a married person living in an urban area, between 25 and 44 years old, earning at least $80,000.

[37] In 2015, along with a proposal to build new affordable housing, the city announced that a different store, Natural Grocers, would be built on the vacant lot.

[2] By selling almost all of its products under its own labels, Trader Joe's "skips the middle man" and buys directly from both local and international vendors.

[42][43] The company reacted by stating that it was already in the process of reverting a number of international foods to Trader Joe's branding and that this decision had already been made several years earlier.

Trader Joe's later clarified that some branding referenced in the petition will remain, stating, "We disagree that any of these labels are racist.

For freshly-prepared items (e.g., deli, bakery, dairy and juice), Trader Joe's tries to source products as close to the stores as possible, which may result in variations with recipes and prices.

State laws, taxes, deposit requirements, and distribution costs can also influence how products are priced in each location.

[48] In February 2008, Trader Joe's announced that it would phase out single-ingredient products from China by April 2008, because of unspecified customer concerns.

[56] Upon the death of Fred Franzia of the Charles Shaw label in September 2022, The New York Times reported Trader Joe's had sold over one billion bottles.

[61][62] Trader Joe's states that "a continuing focus of [their] sustainability initiatives is maintaining product integrity and preventing food waste".

[63] The retailer has been characterized as "notoriously secretive"[64] and it has also been criticized for a lack of transparency by management about the sources of products such as organic milk.

[67] In 2016, Trader Joe's agreed to a settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Justice, due to allegations the company had violated the Clean Air Act by emitting high global warming potential (GWP) and ozone-depleting refrigerants.

[63] Between 2012 and 2013, Trader Joe's moved from 15th on Greenpeace's CATO (Carting Away the Oceans) scale to third by removing six unsustainable species of fish from its shelves and getting involved in efforts to protect the Bering Sea Canyons.

[72][73] Trader Joe's said that in 2021, approximately 99.5% of all products were sold in stores, donated to food recovery partners, or composted.

[77] In May 2009, Consumer Reports ranked Trader Joe's the second-best supermarket chain in the United States (after Wegmans).

[85] In September 2013, in response to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Trader Joe's stated that it would require part-time employees to work an average of 30 hours per week in order to qualify for medical insurance (with free coverage for basic dental and vision care still being available for all crew members who work an average of 15 hours or more per week).

[87] Workers at the Trader Joe's grocery store in Hadley announced in an open letter dated May 14, 2022, to the company's CEO their intent to push for unionization citing stagnated wages and a desire for better pay, benefits and workplace conditions.

[89][90] On April 20, 2023, crew members at the Trader Joe's location in the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland, California, voted 73–53 to unionize.