Whole Foods vs. Trader Joe's: Battle of the Brands

I love Trader Joe's! I live in Southwest Florida & there are no stores here, I have to shop when I visit my family in Md.

I would LOVE to shop at Trader Joe's, and would relish the opportunity. Unfortunately, Trader Joe's cares too much about California and doesn't think enough of the southern states to put a store here; thankfully, Whole Foods Market DOES.

Whole Foods vs. Trader Joe's? No contest.

Whole Foods has turned from a source for high quality foods into nothing more than a huge corporation that is looking to put profit before quality. Their "green" initiative is nothing more than an attempt to fine tune their marketing to ride the latest "green" wave. They import dozens of types of food from China (a country where we have no FDA inspection ability) and then label those foods ORGANIC!!

How can something be organic when it's of unknown origin? Talk about not supporting their local farmers... they don't even support Americans, nevermind locals.

As a Whole Foods consumer who got them started, shopping at stores they bought as well as some of the first Whole Foods markets built, I am disgusted to have taken part. They are reducing the quality of foods sold as organic just to turn a quick buck.

I have only recently discovered Trader Joe's because I'll shop ANYWHERE except Whole Foods now. I was pleasantly surprised to find many American products and much more reasonable prices.

Whole Foods is nothing but a profit hungry corporation. Profit hungry corporations skimp on the product and then sell them at over inflated prices... that's how they make money for the share holders. Is that the kind of irresponsible outfit you want selecting your food from China? Think about the recent pet food problem. Who's to say it won't happen to the garbage Whole Foods imports?

There seems to be some conflicting info here. #s 8 & 11 both raise valid and interesting points. Does anyone know anything more? Maybe a good website? Thanks.

Unfortunately, the Midwest is always the last to get any healthy or tendy stores, so we have neither here. Someone hurry up and come to the Midwest!!

This is a bizarre comparison. Other than projecting organic wholesomeness, the stores have litle in common. Whole Foods is a supermarket with fresh produce, meat and fish counters, canned goods, a bakery, a deli, and wine in many of their stores. Trader Joe's stores are much smaller and make no pretesne at being real supermarkets. You might do better to compare Trader Joe's to a local convenience store than Whole Foods.

I too have worked for both, and still work for Trader Joe's.

Whole Foods is a grocery store.

Trader Joe's isn't quite sure what it wants to be. Not quite organic or gourmet. But not low quality either.

There is a lot of secrecy at Trader Joe's. Who makes the products? Where do they come from? Can the nutritional information be trusted? No one really knows. We get almost daily recalls for products that don't meet "Trader Joe's requirements." That is usually after numerous complaints from the stores to the buyers.

Our produce and fresh meat selection and quality are really bad. I've received fresh produce off of frozen trucks. Our ground beef comes in with code dates to 7 to 9 days. I could go on and on.

Whole Foods isn't the best grocery store out there. There prices are high, mainly due to the large number of people who work in every department everyday. Trader Joe's goes for the one person fits all philosophy where everyone knows a little about everything but no one is really trained or taught too much about one specific department. But Whole Foods does a better job of running and staffing a true grocery store than Trader Joe's.

So where do I shop? Like most people, I shop at the store most convinient to me. I go to my local grocery store for most of my shopping. I pick up a few things after work from Trader Joe's. And when I want something special, I go to Whole Foods.

But I could tell you horror stories about working at any of them. Beware of anything that looks repackaged!!!

My husband and I moved from West Los Angeles (and 2 Trader Joes within 3 blocks of the apartment) to Colorado Springs where the nearest TJs is Santa Fe, NM. We know this because we have made special trips to the area to load up on supplies only Trader Joes can supply. There is a whole foods market in town but in the 3 years we have lived here, we have shopped there 1 time. It is too big, too pricey and the selection wasn't so exciting that we were willing to make the 15 minute drive again. Trader Joes is a special place. My husband and I have been attempting to get a TJs anywhere in the state, but so far there have only been rumors of a Denver location (it's one of those urban myths that doesn't want to die). If we move to another state one of the main criteria is that it has a Trader Joes within a reasonable distance (2 hours would probably be okay). Call me crazy, but we were spoiled in LA and have to maintain a certain standard of living! :-)

I've also shopped at both.

Wish Trader Joe's had a better selection of fresh fruit/vegetables. Other than that I love shopping at Trader Joe's.

As for Whole Foods...I've simply stopped going there. The last couple of times I went there,I walked out in disgust because of their obnoxious prices on vegetables,fruits and especially meats!

Whole Foods prices are ridiculous. I mean, seriously insane. Especially the prepared foods. $13/lb. for breaded chicken! You wouldn't pay that in a restaurant, sitting down, with sides, ambience, and wait staff! Absurd. I like WF better than your typical grocery store. I like their products (though a chocolate station with a cascading chocolate fountain is a bit much). And I like that there are products that they won't carry because they refuse to sell things with certain ingredients in them. But it just doesn't make any sense for the average person to shop there. Anyone who is at all price conscious (and I have a low sense of thrift) realizes after a while that they just can't shop there anymore.

We just got a Trader Joe's here and I was very pleased with their product selection and prices. Didn't look much at the produce beyond bananas, admittedly.

As for service and ambience, I just don't care about that stuff. How often do you actually need help in a grocery store? And with the auto-checkouts these days, you don't even need a sleepwalking mouth-breather to run your things across the scanner for you. For me it's about the quality of the products balanced against the price. I'm hoping the TJs in town will force the WF prices down.

I am concerned about unlabeled ingredients from Trader Joe's, such as "wheat ingredients" and "wheat gluten" with no country of origin given. I just realized that their frozen endame comes from China and tossed it out.

I have yet to find anything from Whole Foods that is from China, but now I'm checking labels. The best thing I did was start going to my local farmer's market.

Yesterday, a friend mentioned that some frozen veggies from Fresh Direct were from China. We said "there is no way that WF would do that" thinking we knew what we were talking about...

Unfortunately, we came home and checked the WF-brand frozen spinach, brocoli, and mushrooms only to find they are all "Products of China".

We have written a letter to WF complaining and will certainly check labels more carefully in the future. We have threatened WF that will stop buying there and will sell our WF stock unless they get more locally-grown or CSA products for their brands.

I used to feel that T.J.'s was one of the last remaining honest companies, but now we know that they are, somehow hiding the truth about where the majority of the products come from. I thought the F.D.A. made it mandatory for companies to reveal and print the country of origin on items a couple of years ago. How does traders slip under the wire on a mandatory law? just wonderin, won't be shopping there as much anymore, hello whole foods and sunflowers!!!!

I love Whole Foods. I do not love Whole Foods Prices. Whole foods however is the store that is closer to where I live. Actually Wild Oats is even closer but Whole Foods just bought out Wild Oats.

I have only been to a Trader Joe's once. I would shop there regularly if there we one within a reasonable distance from where I live which there is not. The only 2 that I know of in my area you need a car to get to both. One is in the far far suburbs and the other is in an area that does not have a bus that runs down the street or any street near it. I do not own a car and my main source of transportation is my bike and public transportation.

I was highly impressed with Trader Joe's the first time I went in there. The prices were reasonable and they had a large variety of things that I consume. Cheeses, juices and sparkling juices, natural chips and cereals etc.

There are not many Trader Joe's located in the Chicago area and I can actually think of a superb location in my neighborhood for one that would make it even closer than the Wild Oats and the Whole foods.

If anyone gets the idea to open more Trader Joe's in Chicago there is a vacant former Zayer's building on the 7300 block of North Clark Street.

I would love to become a regular customer of Trader Joe's as I fell in love with both their prices and their products.

In response to the comment by the writer of this blog, my comfort level in any of the 3 stores is fine as long as they have what I want. I do not feel that Whole Foods is a special event kind of place as long as I know I can get what I need. My only complaint is the price level. Now that Whole Foods owns Wild Oats, I hope they don't increase their prices. I need someplace to go where I might still have money left from my paycheck to pay my mortgage after I leave the store.

Trader Joe's come on into the neighborhood and I'll gladly shop there. Right now I can't get to you.

Eva McCann

I used to shop at Whole Foods because it has a wider variety, but the prices are ridiculously high, especially the meats. Like the person that said from above, Whole Foods is a money-hungry corporation. A friend of mine told me abou Trader Joe's, and I started shopping there from now on. Trader Joe's is just as organic as Whole Foods, but the differnce is that most Trader Joe's brand and organic foods are from America, and most importantly, the prices are reasonable. GIVE ME TRADER JOE'S ALL THE WAY!!!!!

This is to CB. How are you able to tell the country of origin. I just bought some seitan (wheat gluten) from Whole Foods. Unfortunately, as with most foods, all that is listed is where it is distributed from, not where the ingredients are from.

I've got an email into the company before I dig into this again.

There's one store (or is it a food company) that's labeling their foods as china-free. But, I'd rather have complete lists of what's in my food, where stuff come from, what they do to it, and what their doing to the environment while they do it. Seems like with today's technology this wouldn't be too difficult. I try to buy from the local farmers, but living where I do, it's a little difficult to find a local grower of wheat gluten :-(

Any assistance on how to find out this information from Whole Foods would be appreciated as I couldn't tell from their website.

TJ's is the overall winner for quality and savings. There are certain extravagent things at WF's that you might go out of you way for once in awhile, but Trader Joe's has been consistent over time, not to mention there quality chocolate section for the connoisseur. WF is fabulous if you are looking for an organic restaurant. But TJ's is where I prefer to shop.

I prefer Whole Foods, the quality is so much better. I don't trust the most of the food products at Trader Joe's.
The meat and produce is of poor quality and I have gotten sick from eating frozen organic veggies from China. Most of the TJ's organic canned goods are from China and taste awful. I stilll buy nuts and cheese from TJ's.

Trader Joe's has saved me a whole lot of money! I love it for that! Shopping at Whole Foods is more of a treat to me; the quality of everything is great but the cost too much. We jokingly call it "Whole-Paycheck". I love Whole Foods but shop regularly at Trader Joe's. I do hope that Trader Joe's will improve their produce section by adding more fresh, local, organic items.

We have visited TJ twice and we felt more at home than Whole Foods. The atmosphere in TJ is friendlier. We have been going to WF and the customer service is not that great. We are Asians here in Chapel Hill, NC and when we stand at the counter of customer service no matter how many staff are talking inside the counter they won't mind you unless you interrupt them by your excuse me.

I'm in the navy and have a family we just got stationed in san diego and though I had shopped at a WF before and loved the fact that I could get healthy food there for my family I couldn't afford to feed all of us and still pay the bills!!! when we moved here my husband and I started asking around for any place we could get good food and not go broke. A friend told my husband about TJ and we tried it out. although it dosen't have everything WF dose we were able to get all the food we needed and still have money left over to by some of thier Beautiful flowers!! we still go to WF to get some of the vitemens and things that TJ dosn't have but over all I defenitly love TJ more. i am more consered about my family eating healthy and getting the proper nutrition than I am about paying rich people to give me Basically the same food I can get at TJ. The thing that gets me most is that I don't understand why it has to cost so much at WF? If anyone could give me a logical answer for that I would realy aprisiate it and please don't give me any bull about quality costing more becouse I was raised on a family farm and we didn't need to inject our animals with anything in order to produce good meat!!!!!