- On Monday, Trader Joe's shared the results of its 14th-annual Customer Choice Awards.
- This year, previous favorites like the Mandarin-orange chicken and Unexpected Cheddar couldn't win.
On Monday, Trader Joe's announced the results of the 14th-annual Customer Choice Awards, which are decided by shoppers' votes for their favorite products from 2022.
This year, the chain didn't tally votes for reigning fan-favorite champions like Mandarin-orange chicken, dark-chocolate peanut-butter cups, Unexpected Cheddar, soy chorizo, and peanut-butter-filled pretzel nuggets. Instead, these items were moved to the Product Hall of Fame.
With room for new items to reach fan-favorite status, here are the winners of the latest Trader Joe's Customer Choice Awards.
The chili-lime rolled-corn tortilla chips took the top spot as the overall fan favorite
Fans crowned the chili-lime rolled-corn tortilla chips as the No. 1 overall product at Trader Joe's after it spent years as a runner-up in the snacks category. Trader Joe's chili-lime chips also won the No.1 spot as the best snack.
Though fans love the sweet yet spicy and ultra-crunchy chips most of all, runners-up for the best overall product include the store's hash-brown patties, the steamed chicken-soup dumplings, the Everything but the Bagel Sesame Seasoning Blend, and its four-pack of frozen chocolate croissants.
In the snack category, fans voted the organic elote corn-chip dippers, organic corn-chip dippers, World's Puffiest white-cheddar corn puffs, and crunchy curls as runners-up.
The sparkling Honeycrisp apple juice beverage, a holiday item, was voted customers' favorite drink
Fans loved the sparkling Honeycrisp-apple juice, which is only available for a limited time during the year.
The crisp drink won the beverage category, followed by the triple-ginger brew, sparkling peach black tea, sparkling cranberry and ginger beverage (also a holiday product), and the non-dairy brown-sugar oat creamer.
Bananas, sold per unit instead of by weight, are customers' favorite produce item
Trader Joe's stocks plenty of produce, but classic bananas (both conventional and organic) came out as the top pick, knocking the brand's Teeny Tiny avocados out of the winning spot.
Though many stores price bananas by the pound, Trader Joe's stands out by selling this staple for $0.19 per banana, a cost that has remained the same for decades.
The Teeny Tiny avocados dropped down to second place, followed by Honeycrisp apples, Brussels sprouts, and organic carrots of many colors.
Out of all the Trader Joe's cheeses, the cheddar with caramelized onions was the winner
Though the store's Unexpected Cheddar was a recurring winner in the cheese category, this year, the cheddar with caramelized onions won first place. The cheddar's savory flavor balances the sweetness of the onions, making it a rich, tasty addition to any charcuterie board.
The cheese category's runners-up include Syrah-soaked Toscano, baked lemon ricotta, blueberry and vanilla chevre, and brie.
Plant-based shoppers voted the kale-cashew pesto as the best vegan and vegetarian product
In past Customer Choice Awards, the soy chorizo took the top spot for the best vegan or vegetarian product but this year, the kale-cashew pesto became the category's winning product.
The sauce can be used on pizzas, mixed into pasta, or spread on toasty bread, and it's completely free of animal products.
Other top picks in this category include vegetable-fried rice, beefless bulgogi, palak paneer, and cauliflower gnocchi.
Fans voted butter chicken with basmati rice as the store's best entrée
With Mandarin-orange chicken placed in the Product Hall of Fame, the butter chicken with basmati rice was the top choice for best entrée.
Most of the runners-up were also quick chicken-based meals, including chicken tikka masala, kung-pao chicken, and barbecue-teriyaki chicken. The only non-chicken runner-up, taking the fourth spot, was the seasonal butternut-squash mac and cheese.
Hold the Cone is a staple dessert for many Trader Joe's customers
Hold the Cone, miniature ice-cream treats available in multiple flavors, is the winning choice in the dessert category.
They come in chocolate-chip, pumpkin-ginger, peppermint, and chocolate flavors. Trader Joe's even offers vegan variations of the treat called Hold the Dairy.
Other favorites in the dessert category include all flavors of the kringle, Sublime ice-cream sandwiches, chocolate-lava cakes, and brookies.
As for home goods, shoppers love to stock up on scented candles
Fans also voted for Trader Joe's household staples and personal-care products, putting the scented candles in the No.1 spot.
The candles are $3.99 and come in a range of scents, like cedar balsam and mango tangerine. They're made with coconut-soy wax and lead-free cotton wicks.
Trader Joe's scented candles beat out other household items like the beloved daily-facial sunscreen, ultra-moisturizing hand cream, tea-tree tingle shampoo and conditioner, and shea butter and coconut-oil hair mask.