I'm a Brit who went to Trader Joe's for the 1st time and I wish we had grocery stores like it in the UK

Grace DeanAug 12, 2024, 18:31 IST

The store was beautifully laid out.Grace Dean

I went to Trader Joe's for the first time on a trip to Chicago.
I'd never seen such a beautiful chain grocery store. It had handwritten signs and fun, colorful displays.

Trader Joe's has legions of loyal fans across the US who are lured in by its beautifully-decorated stores, friendly members of staff, and extensive range of food that it's not possible to find elsewhere.

On a recent business trip to Chicago, I was able to set foot in the retailer for the first time — and boy was I glad I did.

The store was located in Chicago's South Loop, not far from the museum campus. Walmart, Meijer, and Aldi didn't have stores that were anywhere near as central.

I visited a Trader Joe's store in central Chicago.Grace Dean

As soon as I stepped in the store, I felt a warm, cozy, homely feeling I don't get from other grocery-store chains.

The Trader Joe's store was warm and homely.Grace Dean

Trader Joe's had soft-colored white and yellow walls, much lower ceilings than other stores, and some wooden shelving throughout. The shelves were all at easy-to-reach heights, too.

The Trader Joe's store has wooden accents throughout.Grace Dean

Trader Joe's had soft-colored white and yellow walls, much lower ceilings than other stores, and some wooden shelving throughout. The shelves were all at easy-to-reach heights, too.

This, in comparison, was the headache-inducing interior of the Target store I visited.

I didn't enjoy shopping at Target.Grace Dean/Business Insider

At Trader Joe's, the aisles were very wide which made the store easy to navigate. It felt spacious.

The Trader Joe's store has wide aisles.Grace Dean

Both times when I visited the store I saw lots of employees neatening up the shelves, too. It was very tidy.

The shelves at the Trader Joe's store were neatly stacked.Grace Dean

Everything was well stocked.

The Trader Joe's store was well stocked.Grace Dean

Artwork throughout the store celebrated Chicago, from this silhouette of the city in Trader Joe's trademark red ...

The Trader Joe's store had Chicago-themed artwork.Grace Dean

... to this artwork of the Buckingham Fountain. Images inspired by Chicago's flag decorated the walls, too.

The artwork made the store seem local and personalized.Grace Dean

I was instantly struck by all the efforts that had been made to personalize the store. Some of these were at a large scale, like this signage for the flower shop ...

There were decorative signs in the flower section.Grace Dean

... and this display complete with a squirrel, dinosaur, mini shopping cart, and terrible pun.

Trader Joe's referred to its "ex-squirrel-ent" quality merchandise.Grace Dean

These bottles of wine were displayed atop a barrel, adding to the rustic, homely feeling.

This end-cap display featured bottles of wine in a barrel.Grace Dean

Displays throughout the store were handwritten, including this end-cap display for pancake mix and maple syrup.

This display recommended pairing its pancake mix with maple syrup.Grace Dean

But the store had paid attention to detail, too. Lots of individual products had colorful, beautifully-drawn signs ...

Staff members had clearly put a lot of effort into drawing the signs.Grace Dean

... complete with small illustrations ...

Some of the labels had cute illustrations.Grace Dean

... and serving tips.

The pimento cheese dip was labeled as "great on burgers or sandwiches."Grace Dean

Some items were even labeled as "crew favorites." It gave the overall impression of shopping at a market stall or small independent store rather than a huge national grocery-store chain.

Trader Joe's manchego cheese was described as a "crew favorite."Grace Dean

Some items were even labeled as "crew favorites." It gave the overall impression of shopping at a market stall or small independent store rather than a huge national grocery-store chain.

Now for the products themselves. As well as food, the store I visited sold flowers, plants, alcohol, and a limited selection of household items. I was impressed by how many food products were labeled as organic.

The Trader Joe's store had an extensive range of packaged goods, like cookies, candies, and cereals.Grace Dean/Business Insider

Now for the products themselves. As well as food, the store I visited sold flowers, plants, alcohol, and a limited selection of household items. I was impressed by how many food products were labeled as organic.

The fruit and vegetables looked incredibly fresh — does Trader Joe's employ someone just to polish its apples every day? Everything was neatly arranged and a lot of the produce was available loose, which added to the market stall appearance.

I could see my soul reflected in those apples.Grace Dean/Business Insider

The fruit and vegetables looked incredibly fresh — does Trader Joe's employ someone just to polish its apples every day? Everything was neatly arranged and a lot of the produce was available loose, which added to the market stall appearance.

The bananas were displayed nicely too, stacked on these wooden shelves — though I did notice the 23-cent price tag on its regular bananas. Prior to this spring, Trader Joe's had held the price at 19 cents for more than two decades.

Costco recently increased the price of its bananas after holding them at 19 cents for more than 20 years.Grace Dean

The bananas were displayed nicely too, stacked on these wooden shelves — though I did notice the 23-cent price tag on its regular bananas. Prior to this spring, Trader Joe's had held the price at 19 cents for more than two decades.

One thing Trader Joe's was lacking, though, was loose pick-n-mix bread rolls.

I was underwhelmed by the bread section of the store.Grace Dean

There were also no staffed cheese, deli meat, or fish counters where you could have produce weighed out and ask for cooking and serving tips.

The Trader Joe's store I visited had no staffed counters.Grace Dean

The store overwhelmingly sold own-brand products, but Trader Joe's had no unified packaging design for these, with different fonts, colors, and imagery. The Trader Joe's logos weren't prominent and it was hard to identify them as own-label products at first glance.

The coffee came in beautiful packaging.Grace Dean

The store overwhelmingly sold own-brand products, but Trader Joe's had no unified packaging design for these, with different fonts, colors, and imagery. The Trader Joe's logos weren't prominent and it was hard to identify them as own-label products at first glance.

These frozen cheesecakes, for example, came in beautiful boxes ...

I loved the boxes the cheesecake came in.Grace Dean

... while this vegan pepperoni had fun retro-style packaging.

This vegan pepperoni packaging was very fun.Grace Dean

Each flavor of ice cream had a different design on its tub. There was no consistent branding uniting them all.

Each flavor of ice cream had completely different packaging.Grace Dean

Trader Joe's also had some unique products that I hadn't seen elsewhere — or not in the UK, at least. These dark chocolate drizzled plantain chips, for example, looked great.

I regretted not trying these plantain chips.Grace Dean

Trader Joe's also had some unique products that I hadn't seen elsewhere — or not in the UK, at least. These dark chocolate drizzled plantain chips, for example, looked great.

These "tiniest" chocolate-chip cookies looked adorable, too.

Grace Dean

Trader Joe's sold a version of Swedish Fish called Scandinavian Swimmers.

For $3.49 you could get your hands on some Scandinavian Swimmers.Grace Dean

The store was a celebration of all things ube. Products I spotted included pretzels, tea cookies, Joe-Joe's, and ice cream.

Ube was a dominant flavor at the store.Grace Dean

I'm not sure who told the Trader Joe's team that English Breakfast Tea should be served with sugar, though.

I personally take my tea with oat milk and no sugar.Grace Dean

I asked a staff member to point out the store's most popular buys.

Trader Joe's frozen tofu and vegetable kimbap costs $3.99 and is a strong seller.Grace Dean

I didn't notice any discounts while I was in the store, like two-for-one deals or 30% off offers.

There didn't seem to be any promotional deals in the store.Grace Dean

I spent $41.26 with taxes — here's what I got, including a blue canvas bag. The Trader Joe's Almond Butter Granola, which was $3.99 pre-tax, was delicious. But I was disappointed by the oat milk, which was very watery.

Here's what i got for just over $40.Grace Dean

I spent $41.26 with taxes — here's what I got, including a blue canvas bag. The Trader Joe's Almond Butter Granola, which was $3.99 pre-tax, was delicious. But I was disappointed by the oat milk, which was very watery.

I loved shopping at Trader Joe's. The store was incredibly clean, spacious, and inviting. I wish we had stores like this in the UK.

Shopping at Trader Joe's was a relaxing — and fun — experience.Grace Dean

The handwritten price labels made a world of difference.

The store was beautifully laid out.Grace Dean

The pandemic helped accelerate the rise in grocery delivery, and it fuelled a debate about what retailers can do to lure shoppers back into their physical stores.

Trader Joe's makes grocery shopping an experience.Grace Dean

Some products at Trader Joe's are definitely more expensive than at other retailers.

I hope to return to Trader Joe's.Grace Dean

I tried on T-shirts at Old Navy, Gap, and Banana Republic. There was one clear winner when it came to value and quality.

Cookies on the Business Insider India website

I'm a Brit who went to Trader Joe's for the 1st time and I wish we had grocery stores like it in the UK

The store was located in Chicago's South Loop, not far from the museum campus. Walmart, Meijer, and Aldi didn't have stores that were anywhere near as central.

As soon as I stepped in the store, I felt a warm, cozy, homely feeling I don't get from other grocery-store chains.

Trader Joe's had soft-colored white and yellow walls, much lower ceilings than other stores, and some wooden shelving throughout. The shelves were all at easy-to-reach heights, too.

This, in comparison, was the headache-inducing interior of the Target store I visited.

At Trader Joe's, the aisles were very wide which made the store easy to navigate. It felt spacious.

Both times when I visited the store I saw lots of employees neatening up the shelves, too. It was very tidy.

Everything was well stocked.

Artwork throughout the store celebrated Chicago, from this silhouette of the city in Trader Joe's trademark red ...

... to this artwork of the Buckingham Fountain. Images inspired by Chicago's flag decorated the walls, too.

I was instantly struck by all the efforts that had been made to personalize the store. Some of these were at a large scale, like this signage for the flower shop ...

... and this display complete with a squirrel, dinosaur, mini shopping cart, and terrible pun.

These bottles of wine were displayed atop a barrel, adding to the rustic, homely feeling.

Displays throughout the store were handwritten, including this end-cap display for pancake mix and maple syrup.

But the store had paid attention to detail, too. Lots of individual products had colorful, beautifully-drawn signs ...

... complete with small illustrations ...

... and serving tips.

Some items were even labeled as "crew favorites." It gave the overall impression of shopping at a market stall or small independent store rather than a huge national grocery-store chain.

Now for the products themselves. As well as food, the store I visited sold flowers, plants, alcohol, and a limited selection of household items. I was impressed by how many food products were labeled as organic.

The fruit and vegetables looked incredibly fresh — does Trader Joe's employ someone just to polish its apples every day? Everything was neatly arranged and a lot of the produce was available loose, which added to the market stall appearance.

The bananas were displayed nicely too, stacked on these wooden shelves — though I did notice the 23-cent price tag on its regular bananas. Prior to this spring, Trader Joe's had held the price at 19 cents for more than two decades.

One thing Trader Joe's was lacking, though, was loose pick-n-mix bread rolls.

There were also no staffed cheese, deli meat, or fish counters where you could have produce weighed out and ask for cooking and serving tips.

The store overwhelmingly sold own-brand products, but Trader Joe's had no unified packaging design for these, with different fonts, colors, and imagery. The Trader Joe's logos weren't prominent and it was hard to identify them as own-label products at first glance.

These frozen cheesecakes, for example, came in beautiful boxes ...

... while this vegan pepperoni had fun retro-style packaging.

Each flavor of ice cream had a different design on its tub. There was no consistent branding uniting them all.

Trader Joe's also had some unique products that I hadn't seen elsewhere — or not in the UK, at least. These dark chocolate drizzled plantain chips, for example, looked great.

These "tiniest" chocolate-chip cookies looked adorable, too.

Trader Joe's sold a version of Swedish Fish called Scandinavian Swimmers.

The store was a celebration of all things ube. Products I spotted included pretzels, tea cookies, Joe-Joe's, and ice cream.

I'm not sure who told the Trader Joe's team that English Breakfast Tea should be served with sugar, though.

I asked a staff member to point out the store's most popular buys.

I didn't notice any discounts while I was in the store, like two-for-one deals or 30% off offers.

I spent $41.26 with taxes — here's what I got, including a blue canvas bag. The Trader Joe's Almond Butter Granola, which was $3.99 pre-tax, was delicious. But I was disappointed by the oat milk, which was very watery.

I loved shopping at Trader Joe's. The store was incredibly clean, spacious, and inviting. I wish we had stores like this in the UK.

The handwritten price labels made a world of difference.

The pandemic helped accelerate the rise in grocery delivery, and it fuelled a debate about what retailers can do to lure shoppers back into their physical stores.

Some products at Trader Joe's are definitely more expensive than at other retailers.