Trader Joe’s, the wildly popular grocery store chain, is again under fire from social media after a TikTok user went viral with videos showing the chain’s often hilariously named ethnic foods. It isn’t the first time the Monrovia, California store has caught flak for perceived “racist” labeling. In 2020, at the height of the woke movement, the company said it would remove ethnic brand names after an online petition criticized the company as racist.
Trader Joe’s had been using the product-naming practice for decades without issue before the overly sensitive year of 2020 prompted social media to attempt to cancel the grocer. Now, a TikToker named Kyi has reignited the firestorm. The social media user only had 161 followers but managed to gain 2.1 million views and 150,000 likes as her videos grew legs and ran on their own. Kyi utilized tho popular “point of view” method as she picked p various ethnic items and reacted to the playful descriptive packaging.
After examining a frozen bag of the company’s much-coveted Mandarin Orange Chicken, the wannabe influencer noted it was labeled as “Trader Ming’s” and showed her alleged outrage by captioning: “POV: U just found out Trader Joe’s does THIS to cultural foods.” It is reminiscent of 2020 when a San Francisco high schooler delivered an online petition to the grocery chain demanding the labeling change.
The petition, which read in part, ‘The common thread between all of these transgressions is the perpetuation of exoticism, the goal of which is not to appreciate other cultures, but to further other and distance them from the perceived ‘normal” when referring to such brand names as’Trader Ming’s for Asian dishes, ‘Arabian Joe’s’ for Middle Eastern dishes and ‘Trader Jose’s’ for Mexican food. The company also featured ethnic names for Italian foods as well. Initially, the company bowed a knee, saying: “While this approach to product naming may have been rooted in a lighthearted attempt at inclusiveness, we recognize that it may now have the opposite effect — one that is contrary to the welcoming, rewarding customer experience we strive to create every day.”
After bending a knee, the company backtracked and doubled down on their practice. In a press release in 2020, the chain said: “We want to be clear: we disagree that any of these labels are racist. We do not make decisions based on petitions. We thought then – and still do – that this naming of products could be fun and show appreciation for other cultures. Moving forward, we will continue to evaluate those products with name variations that remain in our store. If we find certain product names and-or products are not resonating with customers, we won´t hesitate to make changes.”
It was a refreshing change coming from a major retailer, as so many others live in fear of running afoul of the woke mob. Comments on social media have largely been in favor of the California chain’s playful naming practices. One commenter wrote: “As a Mexican, I rather enjoy Trader Jose,” while another pictured all of the Traders together, exchanging goods, “I thought they were all traders that know each other and sell each other their own foods.”
As of now, Trader Joe’s has not commented on the most recent social media uproar. Considering 2023 is slightly less sensitive than 2020, perhaps the whole thing can be laughed off. It isn’t as if any particular ethnic group has taken umbrage with the playful naming practices. What was a random video by an unknown Tiktok user has indeed taken on a life of its own; let’s hope it stops there and Trader Ming can still work alongside Trader Jose.
Featured image credit: By Harrison Keely – Own work, CC BY 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=136959927
"*" indicates required fields