Omiyage: Trader Joe’s?
Photo by Melissa Chang
Okay, don’t hate me, but I just don’t get it. I don’t see what the big deal is about with Trader Joe’s. Don’t get me wrong, I like the store. If it was here in Hawaii, I would definitely shop there. And when I’m on the Mainland, it’s one of the places I like to stop for drinks and snacks to have in my hotel room. But when Melissa Chang and Brook Nakamura said that they were going to Trader Joe’s to shop for omiyage, I instead opted to sleep in.
I honestly just don’t get it. Yes, it’s a cool store with a lot of great products. But I wouldn’t make room in my luggage to bring home cans of Trader Joe’s tomato sauce, packets of curry or boxes of cookies.
The only thing that I can see is that people view Trader Joe’s the same way I view Fry’s Electronics. Although Fry’s is bigger and has a broader inventory than any electronics store in Hawaii, a lot of what’s carried can still be acquired in various stores, just not all at one place. The thing that makes the Fry’s in Las Vegas appealing to me is that there isn’t one in Hawaii. Is that the appeal of Trader Joe’s?
Check out the really cool stuff Melissa and Brook found while on their trip to Trader Joe’s.
Why do you like to shop at Trader Joe’s?
