King Arthur Flour, Trader Joe's and Soymilk

I've heard... (4.00 / 4)

And keep in mind, this is hearsay, I don't know whether it's true or not...

But I've heard that Trader Joe's pretty much does that with everybody and everything that they can - carry a popular product for a while, then reformulate it and brand it as "TJ's" and sell it a few cents cheaper than the previous item which they then stop carrying.

The King Arthur story would seem to lend some credence to that.  But again, I honestly don't know anything about it.

One thing that can be said about them is that they pay their employees really well, though.  Or so I hear...

There's a Trader Joe's like 5 blocks from me, it shares the same building with a really cool little produce shop which carries dozens of Bob's Red Mill products (flour, pancake mixes, dried beans, etc...).  I'm actually working my way through a bag of Shepherd's Grain whole wheat flour right now, though...

maybe Joe will see the error of his ways.

Heh.  :)

Coming soon to a Philadelphia near you!

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by: JayinPortland @ Mon May 04, 2009 at 05:04:03 AM UTC

Here in Seattle (4.00 / 3)

you can buy King Arthur at the local Safeway. It's a lot more expensive than Gold Medal or the house brand (about 30¢/lb I think) but if you are going for quality, sounds like it's worth it.

Me, I just bought 50# of flour over at the local restaurant supply the other day. I also bought 25# of Bob's Red Mill quick oats, both for oatmeal and making oat bread. I'd have considered King Arthur if they carried it. I know King Arthur sells their flour in 25# bags but I don't know how widely they distribute it. (It's available mail order but I understand the shipping is pretty steep out here to Seattle.)

I have succumbed to the Twitter craze. @Omir55

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by: Omir the Storyteller @ Mon May 04, 2009 at 06:21:05 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Oh, grits too! (4.00 / 3)

Your mention of Bob's Red Mill oats just reminded me that I have a thing of Bob's corn grits in the fridge right now, too - haven't made that in a couple weeks, think that'll be breakfast tomorrow.

Re: King Arthur - I actually heard of their cookbooks before I heard about their flour, heh...

Coming soon to a Philadelphia near you!

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by: JayinPortland @ Mon May 04, 2009 at 06:31:43 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Oh, Jay (4.00 / 5)

King Arthur flour is the best.  I have used it for bread, pizza dough, everything. Never got their cookbook (don't need it, lol) but the quality is as good as everything you've ever heard.

The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found. -- Calvin Trillin

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by: Youffraita @ Mon May 04, 2009 at 09:33:08 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Oh, I don't doubt that for a second... (4.00 / 4)

But out here, I'm gonna stick with the local guys...

:)

Shepherd's Grain growers sell flour direct here at the Portland farmers' markets (and their stuff is great, too!); and Bob's Red Mill is local here, too...

Coming soon to a Philadelphia near you!

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by: JayinPortland @ Mon May 04, 2009 at 17:44:08 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

erm...if we had local guys here (4.00 / 3)

I'd stick with them too.

King Arthur is the best I can find, here.

The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found. -- Calvin Trillin

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by: Youffraita @ Mon May 04, 2009 at 22:16:35 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

king arthur is here (4.00 / 4)

in SC also, at the local Food Lion.
excellent product!
i first bought it because of the brand name but the quality of the flour keeps me going back for more.
& i've told all the li'l old ladies about it too!

come firefly-dreaming with me....

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by: RiaD @ Mon May 04, 2009 at 11:50:25 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I just used (4.00 / 4)

King Arthur products for the first time this past winter. I really liked the quality of their products. I had to buy it online though because none of the stores here carry it. As I am as broke as I can possibly be I am back to house brand flour. I think it is sad that a quality food product is too expensive even if it is in its most basic form. Why are cheap and good two mutually exclusive terms?

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by: makettle @ Mon May 04, 2009 at 21:27:43 PM UTC

Wal-Mart carries King Arthur, here (4.00 / 3)

and I really hate giving Wal-Mart my business.

But it's also in some of the regular supermarkets, too.

and no, I don't know why cheap and good are mutually exclusive.  I blame the GOP, specifically  Ronald Reagan and all the asshats who have followed in his footsteps.

Gah!  I never thought I would ever type this, but:

Richard Nixon was the best GOP president in my lifetime, in terms of policy.

Now I will go slit my wrists... (just kidding)

The most remarkable thing about my mother is that for thirty years she served the family nothing but leftovers. The original meal has never been found. -- Calvin Trillin

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by: Youffraita @ Mon May 04, 2009 at 22:22:17 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Heh... (4.00 / 2)

Well, up until now Jimmy Carter was the only Democratic president of my lifetime.  And yes, I know exactly what I'm saying there.

Of course, we all know that Al Gore won in 2000.  Too bad Shithead stole the White House and almost destroyed the world...

Coming soon to a Philadelphia near you!

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by: JayinPortland @ Tue May 05, 2009 at 04:50:21 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

A little cheaper... (4.00 / 3)

King Arthur has a program where you either band with neighbors or convince the local store to carry their flour. Call King Arthur for details

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by: la motocycliste @ Tue May 05, 2009 at 19:46:06 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

That sounds great! (4.00 / 2)

Like mini-coops of neighbors or something.  That sounds cool...

Coming soon to a Philadelphia near you!

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by: JayinPortland @ Tue May 05, 2009 at 23:24:03 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Response from Vitasoy (4.00 / 3)

So now you know:

"Along with the Ethnic/Asian soymilks, we also make Vitasoy (mainstream) soymilks that are sold at all larger retailers in the country.  Due to the fact that soymilk is a difficult business, and because we could not keep pace with larger companies that have grown to dominate the soymilk business in the U.S., the decision was made to discontinue all of the soymilks that we make in the United States.  This also affected our San Sui line which is now being picked up and made by our parent company in Hong Kong.  

We made our last batches of soymilk back in January, so at this point we are not producing any more soymilk products."

Dace Beckstein
Consumer Relations
Vitasoy-USA, Inc.

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by: la motocycliste @ Tue May 05, 2009 at 19:43:35 PM UTC

We bought a bag (4.00 / 3)

of the new Trader Joe's white whole wheat flour in the hope that it is really King Arthur.  Are we sure that Trader Joe's isn't doing a private branding with King Arthur's flour?

I hope it is still King Arthur.  I love their flour.

If you are ever in Vermont, stop by the King Arthur store -- it is a wonderland for anyone that loves to bake.

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by: Sara Reed @ Tue May 05, 2009 at 20:08:33 PM UTC

Per Industry Trade Journal (4.00 / 4)

It isn't. It is a cheap imitation. Call King Arthur to confirm

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by: la motocycliste @ Tue May 05, 2009 at 23:20:41 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

Oh, boo! That's a disappointment. (4.00 / 3)

But I will contact King Arthur and let you know what they say.

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by: Sara Reed @ Wed May 06, 2009 at 02:01:50 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

No need -- a quick Google search (4.00 / 3)

turned up this: http://www.kingarthurflour.com...

From the horse's mouth.  Trader Joe's broke up with King Arthur.

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by: Sara Reed @ Wed May 06, 2009 at 02:08:23 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

A response from Trader Joes! (0.00 / 0)

[corporate gobbledygook]

Hi _________,

Thank you for providing this valuable feedback. We would like to extend our apologies for the disappointing experience you had with the Trader Joe's Flour. We have notified our Quality Assurance Manager and the appropriate buyer regarding your experience, and we will continue to monitor this product for future trends. We believe that quality is essential to good value, and that's what we are all about!

We also wanted to make sure you are aware of our "Product Guarantee." If you are dissatisfied with any product purchased in our stores, you can take it or the empty package or receipt back to your store for an exchange or full refund. We stand behind our motto, "We tried it! We liked it! If you don't, bring it back for a full refund, no questions asked."

At Trader Joe's, we are always striving to improve, and your comments give us the opportunity to do just that.

Thank you,

Nicki K.
Customer Relations
Trader Joe's

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by: la motocycliste @ Thu May 14, 2009 at 16:04:02 PM UTC