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The Spoon

Daily news and analysis about the food tech revolution

Trader Joe's

Impossible Foods Now at Trader Joe’s, Plans to Expand Retail Presence 50x in 2020

Trader Joe’s, the quirky and beloved supermarket chain, announced yesterday that it now carries Impossible Foods’ plant-based ground beef (h/t to Business Insider). But TJ’s is just one stop for Impossible’s aggressive expansion plans this year as the company said as part of yesterday’s news that it plans to expand its retail presence 50x this year alone.

The company has been aggressive with its retail growth throughout this year, and that appears to be accelerating. In April, Impossible was at 1,000 retail locations. In May that number bumped up to 2,700. In June that number reached 3,000, and as part of yesterday’s news Impossible said it was now available in 5,000 stores. (Trader Joe’s has 503 locations.)

Not bad for a product that was only available at select restaurants just last year.

This rapid retail rollout across the U.S. coincides with the COVID-19 pandemic that helped create a surge in consumption of plant-based products. At the same time, the pandemic has resurfaced ethical issues around the production of animal-based meat here in the U.S., especially as meat packing facilities became hot spots for coronavirus transmissions.

In addition to being more available at grocery stores, Impossible launched its own direct to consumer sales channel, allowing consumers to buy its burgers in bulk.

It’s been a busy year all around for plant-based meats. Beyond Meat created its own bulk packaging, bringing the price of its plant-based burgers down closer to traditional meat. Beyond also launched another plant-based chicken pilot with KFC in Southern California, and started selling plant-based sausage at retail. Impossible’s plant-based sausage is now featured in Burger King and Starbucks’ breakfast sandwiches and is available to all restaurants in the U.S.

With a little less than half a year remaining in 2020, I expect the news around plant-based won’t be slowing down anytime soon.

Tovala Becomes More Versatile with Addition of Scan-to-Cook Feature

While the Tovala has always been the most affordable of the new smart countertop ovens, the fact that it was tied to a meal subscription plan always made it feel constricting. The second-gen Tovala added more flexibility to the device itself, but it still seemed optimized primarily for making Tovala food. Yesterday, Tovala took another step towards broadening its capabilities by adding a new scan-to-cook feature (h/t to CNET).

Tovala’s “Scan the Store” works as you’d imagine. Buy a packaged item from the grocery store, scan the barcode on the item with the Tovala and the smart oven cooks the food automatically (no pre-heating required). Right now, the feature only works with Trader Joe’s frozen foods, though the company says it will be adding new brand partnerships (read: more grocers, more products).

Scan the Store puts Tovala at the center of two trends emerging in the smart kitchen space. First, barcode scanning to generate cook programs is being used by other appliances like the Alexa powered GE Scan-to-Cook microwave. The benefit being a more precise cook program tailored for each food rather than blasting everything with full power.

But like the June oven, Tovala is now setting itself up as a platform with brand partnerships. Last fall June added a Whole Foods button to its touchscreen menu for automated cook programs from that grocer. Tovala too will add more food from more grocers making it even more useful.

What the Scan the Store feature does most, however, is make the Tovala a more attractive device among the new wave of smart ovens. At $349, it’s cheaper than the June ($599), and the Brava ($995), and now those who buy it are now getting a more versatile appliance.

Trader Joe’s Podcast is a Hit, Please Don’t Try to Copy It

People get pretty fanatical about Trader Joe’s, and evidently, that rabid fan base goes beyond their grocery baskets and into their ears — the Trader Joe’s podcast has become a hit. (Hat tip to Fast Company.)

As of this writing, Inside Trader Joe’s, which launched its first full episode on May 1, is ranked number 5 on the iTunes “Top Podcast” charts. For some context, that’s right below The New York Times’ The Daily podcast, which gets more than one million listeners a day.

Inside Trader Joe’s is a five-part audio series that delves into how TJ’s products come to be, how the company works, and some of the company history. Though they explicitly say they don’t want this show to be a commercial, it’s totally a commercial. And while I could only make it through half an episode, the production value is high, and I could understand why someone who loves shopping there might be interested to learn more about the store… kinda.

It’s easy to see why Trader Joe’s has dipped its toe into podcasting. According to numbers from Edison Research, an estimated 73 million Americans over the age of 12 report that they’ve listened to a podcast in the last month. Podcasts are a great way to connect with audiences in a one-on-one experience, and often, thanks to headphones, to the exclusion of everything else. People listen in their cars, while they’re working out or just put them on to have in the background at home.

It might not be for me, but I’m all for Trader Joe’s trying this experiment. My bigger problem is the inevitable copycats that will follow. Just as Serial spawned a host of other true crime podcasts, it’s inevitable that Trader Joe’s will strike envy in its competitors, and it won’t be long before we see The Safeway Show, or Kroger’s Korner.

So I’m writing this post to ask — no, to beg — eager marketers out there. Don’t. Just… don’t.

Trader Joe’s is sui generis, and it can’t be replicated with a new marketing channel. The store itself is quirky and its products are interesting, with random bells ringing and teddy bears hidden amongst the merchandise. And it already inspires legions of cult-like fans. Creating a fun podcast revealing some of its secrets is actually on-brand for the company.

Anyone else trying to copy the success of this podcast will just be trying too hard, and it will inevitably not work.

FUN FACT: Trader Joe’s is owned by the Albrecht family, to which, sadly, I have no relation.