Kirkland Signature's Canned Tuna Is Actually Produced By This Major Fish Brand

It is no secret that Costco's Kirkland Signature brand is backed by some pretty famous name brand companies — and canned tuna is no exception. According to a 2003 interview with a Costco executive, Kirkland Signature partnered with Bumble Bee to produce the Kirkland Signature water-packed white albacore tuna. Of all the latest and greatest canned tuna brands, Bumble Bee is fairly middle of the road. That means the Kirkland Signature tuna may underwhelm when compared to two other fancier tuna brands that you can find at Costco. However, for the price and quality, the Kirkland Brand offers the best value. In fact, due to its private label, Kirkland Signature's white albacore tuna costs less per can than Bumble Bee. Plus, it is sold in packs of eight 7-ounce cans, which are bigger than 5-ounce Bumble Bee cans.

Costco customers on Reddit were complimentary of the Kirkland Signature white albacore tuna. One Redditor wrote, "I like it. Not overly fishy. Good texture. It's the only one I buy." Customers complain that the tuna can be a bit dry, but applaud its quality and heartiness, with one Redditor stating, "they're large cans so I can get two meals out of each." Plus, most of us don't eat water-packed tuna right out of the can, anyway. To that effect, another Redditor said, "I think it's great for tuna salad, which is all I make with it." But there are plenty of other recipes and ways to incorporate moisture into a can of white albacore tuna.

Oddly enough, Bumble Bee did not start as a tuna brand at all, but a salmon trading and fishing company along the Oregon coast for the first few decades of its existence at the turn of the 29th century. However, with an increase in demand for tuna and the warming of Pacific Ocean currents, Bumble Bee pivoted to tuna fishing, and the rest is history. Despite horrifying allegations from its fishermen about slave labor on their fishing boats, Bumble Bee still manages to be one of the most popular canned tuna brands globally. Its sales from Amazon and Walmart rival the current top contenders, Starkist and Wild Planet. While Bumble Bee encompasses various types of canned tuna, the white albacore water-packed cans are the best sellers, and they're what you can expect to receive from the Kirkland Signature white albacore water-packed tuna.

Since you get a whopping eight cans per package (in true Costco style) and can only make so much tuna salad, we have more tuna recipes to make the most of each can. For example, this cheesy deluxe tuna casserole is the perfect recipe to improve the texture and decadence of a can of water-packed tuna. Combine two favorite lunch items with this zippy tuna pasta salad. Canned tuna is also prepped for incorporating into a tuna burger like this pan-seared recipe that we top with cucumber tzatziki sauce, red onions, and alfalfa sprouts.