Buying Budget Food: Whole Foods vs Trader Joe's

Afraid to buy budget foods because you think the quality is low? We compared brand from Whole Foods against Trader Joe's and the results will shock you!


Get the same brands you buy at whole foods for less by trying store brand items like Trader Joe's private label.

[DietHealth]

I (matt, videographer) used to live in Florida. Publix rocks! They had great subs!

[DietHealth]

bc rather than saying um or like - i pause - i don't have a teleprompter and have little time to rehearse/memorize

[Efachomusic]

Whole foods has it's own budget brand. They also have a lot of sales and better prices than most places. Keep shopping wise and saving.

[TheMotherfer]

I freely admit that Trader's Joe does kick ass, more unique fare; there products seemed to be geared towards a more healthy lifestyle, with the exception of a few, and overall cheaper prices.

BTW: Sarah is adorable.

[carterchris]

Every region of stores at WFM has different products depending on what's available to them. So if the commercial was shot in a different region than your local store than yes the products can and most likely will be different, but you'll most likely be able to find it in a different brand. Also venders for the stores change constantly-new ones come in, and ones that aren't selling go out. It also depends on what's available currently to the buyers. Ask store Team Members they can be very helpful

[Rpk]

Actually, anything with TJ's private label is free of GMO's. Also there's no artificial additives or preservatives. The dairy is hormone free, too.

[anotherashley]

"Great Value" which is Wal Marts brand is really good and at a lower price.

[wekabord]

@Vampirate76 because Trader Joe's almost exclusively carries private labels. Very rarely do they buy outside of their own name.

[Efachomusic]

Can you ship items? Shop for packaged goods and maybe bulk stuff and ship it. You can also go to a larger town 4 times a year and stock up. Maybe get a deep freezer also to store bulk frozen goods.

[Veronica]

Trader Joe's is actually cheaper than the chain grocery stores around here. I can get organic vegetables there cheaper than the non organic vegetables at the A&P!! How crazy is that? (A&P is supposed to be a cheap supermarket for those who don't know of it).

[TheReapersSon]

That said, we generally have the best price on most items. You just have to be aware of the size vs. price that you are paying for on things you would normally get somewhere else.

It's misleading because Trader Joe's doesn't put price-per-ounce information on their signs.

[achampag]

you must keep an eye on the sodium, many cheaper brands have much higher sodium. tuna for example. the cheaper tuna here has 100mg more sodium per serving!

also, watch the sugars. many times stuff is cheaper b/c they used fillers like salt and sugar, and god forbid that high fructose corn syrup.

best way to save money, imo, with healthy food? bulk buying from the bins. bring your own containers.

[jayejoseph]

I'm confused...Whole Foods has their own Private Label brands. Why are you comparing Trader Joe's Private Label to brand names you bought at Whole Foods? Why wouldn't you compare Whole Foods Private Label brands to the national brands at Whole Foods or Trader Joe's Private Label brand to national brands at Trader Joe's?

[thisismyspacebugoff]

We have a whole foods in London, however the difference is that all the foods there are meant to be organic and sourced locally, which isn't true of own brand food in supermarkets which is cheaper. I am in England, is it the same in America, with whole foods meant to be organic?

[kalebhgoodwin]

@codethis I love Trader Joe's business! They know how to make money, with 10 billion in sales yearly. they have over 375 stores now. they doubled their company by 50% in 5 years. According to supermarket in 2006, they had 250 stores with revenue of 4.5 billion. In 2011 they have 365 stores with revenue of 8.5 billion.They parent company owns aldi which has over 9000 stores.

[dastrdlydna]

yeah..I just bought 3 ears of corn at Whole Foods, went to TJ's and found they were half the price. Both conventional, unhusked....hate that.

[Bobster]

I just bought at Trader Joe's sliced Organic American Cheese singles, I was grillng some Organic chicken breast and thought it would taste good with a single slice of cheese on it. As it melted, I noticed by the edges a mesh like material inside the chesse as it began to melted and reseed on to my chicken. I once read that Kraft or someone was useing a plastic substance in their product, so I stopped buying it. How can Trader Joe's call it ORGANIC?

[TYOrder]

you could do the same comparison at any grocery store vs. their own house brand or another stores house brand. I guess it was just easier to pick on Wholefoods! And besides she should have priced matched against 365 brand, Wholefoods private label. Is this lady really a smart shopper??? I think not!!

[GlamorGrl]

silk soymilk and the publix green wise brand(wich is also organic it's USDA) is just as good if not better. IDK if ne1 thinks the same thing that brands like silk are more grainy when u drink it? THe publix brand isn't it taste just like regular chocolate/ vanilla milk. for basically a dollar-150 less it tastes better and is practically the same ingredients.

[gmatar]

i like whole food...but its doesnt mean their products are of better quality..

for example lately i noticed that most of their organic vegetables are fruits are from mexico..nothing against mexico but when it comes to organic quality control how can we trust mexico..even in the USA oraganic is so misl leading...unless you see the USDA organic label you cant be sure its really organic