Trader Joe’s Just Reformulated My Kids’ Favorite Product—Here’s What We Think

Not everyone likes change.

A trip to Trader Joe’s is always predictably unpredictable. There are certain items I always come home with—corn salsa, a couple of boxes of This Strawberry Walks into a Bar cereal bars, some kind of cheese, dog treats, and potstickers, just to name a few. Then there are the impromptu purchases—tempting items that I see for the first time and just have to throw in my cart.

If you were to ask my young adult sons what is the one item they wouldn’t leave Trader Joe’s without, they would both give the same answer—Joe-Joe’s, the traditional chocolate sandwich cookies with vanilla creme.

About 12 years ago, I did a chocolate sandwich cookie taste test for my sons and their friends to see how other brands compared to Oreos. I don’t recall all the brands I pitted against the almighty Oreo, but I do recall that Trader Joe’s Joe-Joe’s won the taste test. They were, according to several boys under the age of 12, the best.

Now, whenever I come home from Trader Joe’s, they expect a couple of boxes of Joe-Joe’s to be in the shopping bags. Recently, however, I wasn’t meeting that expectation because they weren’t on the store shelves—now I know why.

Trader Joe’s Reformulated Joe-Joe’s

On its website, Trader Joe’s explained that “in recent memory, the classic Joe-Joe’s we all knew and loved simply weren’t matching our expectations. So we partnered with a long-time supplier to create a next-generation Joe-Joe worthy of the name.”

This reformulation is a “glow-up” of the cookies, the company said, and assured shoppers that “whether you’re a fan of the original or an inquisitive initiate, Joe-Joe’s Chocolate Vanilla Creme Sandwich Cookies are sure to become an instant classic in your pantry.”

An instant classic? My family will be the judge of that.

How Do the New Joe-Joe’s Compare to the Old Joe-Joe’s?

I had success finding the new Joe-Joe’s on my last trip to the store. We didn’t have a box of the old Joe-Joe’s to do a direct taste test comparison, but I’m confident that my young men have had enough of the cookies over the years to have an opinion on the new version.

My younger son had little to say except, “They taste the same to me.” The oldest son, however, was not a fan. “Bring back the old ones,” he told me. “These aren’t nearly as good,” adding, “we love the toucan." (The former packaging had a toucan on the box.)

In addition to changing up the cookies, Trader Joe’s changed the packaging, getting rid of the box and “opting instead for a resealable film that protects the cookies in their tray while simultaneously maximizing freshness.” I agree with my oldest son. They weren’t as good. For me, it was the cookie. It wasn’t as crisp.

But, many people on Reddit seem to feel differently than my family does. When gothbread posted about the new Joe-Joe’s, people commented, “I like these better! Does taste like they improved,” and the feedback was mostly positive.

“I work at Trader Joe’s and I’ll tell you, the new joe joe formula is 🔥 joes joes> Oreos,” said one commenter. Someone responded, “Agreed. They have a better crunch than Oreos too.”

Perhaps, my family judged them too harshly. Maybe we don’t like change. Maybe the missing toucan clouded our judgment. We may just have to buy another package of cookies and give them another try.

Read the original article on All Recipes.