Why Trader Joe's Test Kitchen Looks Like A 'Cold War Interrogation Booth'

Finished off a bag of Trader Joe's snacky clusters and wondering what makes them so downright dreamy? We hear you. With an abundance of chocolate treats and salty snacks on offer, there's something about the moreish quality of Trader Joe's products that sets it apart from other grocery stores. And while the ingredients play a pivotal role in the success of the best Trader Joe's snacks and prepared foods, there's also something else at play: the design of the store's tasting kitchen, where a panel of expert tasters convene to judge the merit of potential new products. This space is purposefully laid out like a "cold war interrogation booth" to ensure that testing can occur in an unbiased environment, according to the store's Vice President of Product Marketing Matt Sloan.

In episode 2 of the "Inside Trader Joe's" podcast, titled "It's About Values," Sloan says the kitchen is "a harsh environment" with "fluorescent lighting, gleaming, white countertops, no fun inspirational posters." He adds that "there's nothing in there that makes it comfortable. It's like a cold war interrogation booth, because we want the products that succeed to go through this like ultra-Darwinian exercise to say that they could stand up even to that harshest light of critical evaluation."

Though it sounds harsh, it makes sense. Judging the products in a space that's free from distractions allows the panel to focus on the quality of each food without the risk of their opinions becoming muddied by their surroundings.

Matt Sloan explains that the thinking behind the pared-back tasting kitchen was to "remove the romance" from the process, likening the operation to the difference between a wine tasting session under the sun on the Amalfi coast or under a fluorescent light on a random Thursday. In short, there should be no other influences apart from the taste, appearance, and aroma of the product itself to ensure it can stand up to scrutiny when released into the wild.

Tasting panels are commonly assembled by supermarkets to check the quality of new products and greenlight them for rollout. To get a product on Trader Joe's shelves, the tasting panel tries each item and shares its opinion in a closed space (the panel itself is made up of the store's crew members, who also have to be regular TJ customers). For a product to get the stamp of approval, it must have a minimum 70% positive response from the tasters.

"We want the tasting panel to make decisions on behalf of our customers," says Sloan, "so none of our vendors, our suppliers, can buy access or be present or help sway those decisions. It really is all about that product."