Many of the consumer
favourite treats have been discontinued from companies like Costco and Trader
Joe’s, creating a disappointing discussion for shoppers. Why beloved products have
disappeared from these stores ranks as one of the most common questions asked.

“We
understand that it can be disappointing — devastating, even,” Trader Joe’s ‘discontinued
product feedback’ contact page for customers reads.

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There are several reasons why stores like Costco,
Trader Joe’s, and many others stop selling certain products:

One of the reasons is the seasonal nature of some products, or when a manufacturer decides to
make a product for a limited
time.

Another major factor
is the competition to get shelf space
inside Trader Joe’s and Costco. These stores only sell a limited number of
items of certain products. If an item isn’t
selling fast enough at Trader Joe’s or is left at Costco warehouses without any
demands, the companies switch to something else that customers are more likely
to buy.

 “If you don’t have high volume or growing
volume, the costs of producing and handling a slow-selling product are such
that it doesn’t make business sense,” Trader Joe’s vice president of marketing
Matt Sloan said in a company podcast in early 2022.

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The
price rise of the products also
serves as a reason why certain products get discontinued. “Costco would rather
not sell an item than sell it at a price that’s too high,” said Chuck Howard,
an assistant professor of marketing. “It would be off-brand for them to be
selling things that consumers think would be too expensive.”

Items
that are sold for cheaper rates at other
stores are also prone to elimination as Costco would want their products to
be the lowest-priced option.

The stability of product
supply was another factor that came forward during the
pandemic. When a manufacturer is unable to produce enough items of a certain
product, the product gets replaced by something that can constantly be on the shelves.