Trader Joe’s increased the price of bananas to 23 cents each

[bcla]

It was 19 cents for at least 20 years. That was the one thing that seemed like it would never change.

https://apnews.com/article/trader-joes-banana-prices-inflation-72b6d2313cf26206c25db390542a9930

 

[barkley]

honestly i would rather see them slightly increase prices than continue to eliminate so many of their products. i know they have a strict formula they follow in order to keep their prices within what they perceive as a more reasonable range than other organic stores (MUCH more reasonable than the chain that successfully fought against them opening where i live for YEARS-yeah, when tj's came to town they lost lots of customers). i understand, appreciate and support that marketing but so many of the products i love have been eliminated in recent years and it's always the same excuse of 'it's above our price point'

 

[bcla]

They'll always have bananas. Strangely enough, the history is that they were only sold individually starting in 2001.

I don't know about how it is in other parts of the country, but around here I only saw Dole for conventional or organic bananas. But today I saw they had Del Monte conventional but Dole organic.

 

[MIGrandma]

I have only bought individual bananas in a gas station or coffee shop. They are always sold by the pound in grocery stores.

 

[disneychrista]

Safeway locally tried the per banana thing and it didn't work, so they went back to per pound. I tend to like to buy smaller bananas but when they were selling them per each, I would buy bigger ones and split them.

 

[barkley]

our local walmarts sell single fruit items at a per item cost-they stock them in the area they have set up with stuff to throw together for a lunch (sandwiches, wraps, single serve salads, yogurt/fruit cups, single serve cookies/chips, bottles of water/juice/sodas/iced coffee).

we have one chain of stores that always has a wicker basket of single fruits at the entrance to the produce department (right at the entrance to the store)-there's a sign instructing parents to take a free 'healthy treat' for the children they have with them.

 

[Praying Colonel]

honestly i would rather see them slightly increase prices than continue to eliminate so many of their products. i know they have a strict formula they follow in order to keep their prices within what they perceive as a more reasonable range than other organic stores (MUCH more reasonable than the chain that successfully fought against them opening where i live for YEARS-yeah, when tj's came to town they lost lots of customers). i understand, appreciate and support that marketing but so many of the products i love have been eliminated in recent years and it's always the same excuse of 'it's above our price point'

DW falls in love with certain wines she can only find at TJ's and one day, poof, they're gone. I'm sure she would've preferred to pay more and keep buying it, but no such luck. Or maybe there was some other supply chain issue, but it still makes her .

For years they carried a reduced-sugar blueberry preserves we loved, but again, poof. They still carry raspberry and strawberry, but no blueberry, for some reason.

Costco has held the line on $1.50 all beef hot dogs forever, and the story of how they do it is pretty interesting:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1644016922525331456

 

[VandVsmama]

The individual price is why I never buy bananas at Trader Joe's.

 

[hertamaniac]

At my Publix, kids are allowed 1 piece of fruit for free and often times it is a banana. There is a small table in the produce section with pre-selected fruits.

 

[bcla]

The individual price is why I never buy bananas at Trader Joe's.

I bought five yesterday for $1.15. I weighed them when I got home and it was about 3.2 lbs although the fronts were exceptionally large. At places where I've seen bananas sold by the piece, I've seen some people just break off the fronts. Even saw someone buying dozens doing that.

 

[_19disnA]

Local grocery stores where I shop always sell bananas by the pound. There are usually bunches of 2 or more so you can pick the number you want. There is a section of 'organic' produce including bananas. They have a type of adhesive band around those you so have to buy the bunch as is and can't just buy one banana. My impression is that most who buy bananas buy more than 1 piece so I am not sure what TJ's accomplishes selling them this way. Bananas tend to be one type of fruit that doesn't last more than 2-3 days, so you likely have to buy the quantity you plan to eat before they go bad.

Not sure there is any valid research that shows 'organic' product to be healthier or better for you. Clearly things marked 'organic' are always more expensive, so I think some assume they must somehow be better.

 

[Brian Noble]

Part of TJ's "deal" is that they don't have scales at checkout. Nothing is sold by the pound.

 

[_19disnA]

I like several of the items TJ's sells. It seems at times they try to be quirky just to be different. Maybe not having scales is part of that. At all other grocery stores, the scanner is also a scale for produce sold by the pound.

 

[bcla]

Part of TJ's "deal" is that they don't have scales at checkout. Nothing is sold by the pound.

Before they switched to selling them individually, they were pre-weighed and bagged. The story goes that the CEO was visiting a location in 2001 talking to customers, when an older woman said she didn't want to buy a full bag since she "might not live to that fourth banana".

I've seen other places that sell bananas individually, including regular Walmart locations and Target. Walmart doesn't have scales except at Super Walmart or Neighborhood Market locations, where I've seen them sold by the pound.

 

[Brian Noble]

Disney resort stores also sell fruit individually.

Rapaciously expensively, but individually.

 

[disneychrista]

I've seen other places that sell bananas individually, including regular Walmart locations and Target. Walmart doesn't have scales except at Super Walmart or Neighborhood Market locations, where I've seen them sold by the pound.

My local Walmart, not a super or neighborhood market does in fact have scales at the checkouts, including the now, apparently closed, self checkout.

 

[_19disnA]

Buying a single piece of fruit when out somewhere eating lunch (or even from a Disney park food truck) makes sense and to me is different from shopping in a grocery store.

 

[marthachick]

I just bought 3 bananas at our local Food Lion. Price was 53 cents per pound. The 3 bananas cost me 75 cents or 25 cents each. I thought of this thread when I bought them.

 

[JimmyBean42]

Can anyone find out how much WDW has upped the price of 1 banana in the past 20 years? My guess is way more than 4 cents. Ha!