Back in 2017, Trader Joe’s wildly popular Hold the Cone! ice cream underwent a major update, and the company explained on Instagram that they had made the cone crunchier, the chocolate richer, and the ice cream creamier. A big behind-the-scenes manufacturing change was responsible for all these improvements.

While Trader Joe’s product suppliers are often a mystery, staff members on the Inside Trader Joe's podcast revealed that the original supplier of Hold the Cone! was located in Germany. "The marketing product guy" Matt Sloan claimed that the German cones were lower quality, and the supplier couldn't keep up with the demand.

This led TJ's to change to an American supplier, and Sloan says that their new source has "better product, different ingredients [...] the ice cream has egg in it here [...] it makes them [have] that much fuller mouth feel, better flavor, texture." The product's unwavering success means that this switch was a major positive.