TRADER Joe's shoppers are upset a popular sauce has been discontinued.
The company's trademark enchilada sauce has disappeared from store shelves, and customers are concerned after a manager intervened.
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An assistant general manager at Trader Joe's confirmed the discontinuation in a Facebook comment a few months ago.
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Trader Joe's primarily sells its own brands of groceries.
This concept has become popular because it allows the store to sell cheaper items – with the downside of offering little variety within grocery items.
Because its products are unique to the store, when the company removes a product from the shelves, it may be impossible to see it again.
News of the enchilada sauce spread on a Facebook page about all the items the company had discontinued.
Shopper Maya sent a message asking about the sauce months ago.
“Does anyone know if they've discontinued enchilada sauce?” she asked with a sad face emoji. “I couldn't tell if it was available everywhere or just in my local stores.”
“Hopefully the worst case is just lack and not stopping,” she said, this time with a sobbing emoji.
“If you liked it, they probably stopped it,” one user quipped.
But a user who appears to be a manager at TJ confirmed the bad news.
“It was stopped,” she said. “However, I saw in the order yesterday that a new one is coming soon. I'm not sure how similar it is to the old one though.”
Another user, whose profile did not include a job title, said it was because the company was looking for a new vendor.
She said a replacement would be available soon. Sure enough, the company already has the new enchilada sauce for sale.
Others were also upset by the loss.
“It was so good, it's the only reason I went to Trader Joe's,” one reviewer said. “They told me he's been suspended too. Hopefully he'll come back.”
More discontinued items
Trader Joe's is pulling items from shelves for a variety of reasons, but shoppers are often surprised by the change.
Customers recently reacted to the disappearance of a four-cheese pastry.
“This was our winter holiday weekend during early lockdown,” one person wrote in an online thread. “It was delicious happiness.”
TJ's Rice-Covered Cauliflower has also disappeared from some shelves.
An employee recently confirmed that the breakfast staple was gone.
