Trader Joe's New Hall Of Fame Honors 5 Fan Favorite Foods

Baseball fans have Cooperstown. Movie buffs have the Chinese Theater. Music lovers have the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. And now Trader Joe's loyal followers have the newly created Product Hall of Fame.

Since 2009, the quirky grocery store has been surveying customers to determine their favorite store-brand items. According to Winsight Grocery Business, at the start of each calendar year Trader Joe's reaches out to its fanbase via email, on Instagram, and even directly on the Trader Joe's website to vote on their favorite products. The website reads, "If you were to spend the rest of your life on a deserted island, which nine Trader Joe's products would you take with you?"

The results are compiled and announced at the Trader Joe's Customer Choice Awards. As voting for the 14th annual awards commences, the grocery store has decided to create a Hall of Fame for products that have achieved top status again and again, all being voted number one at least five times in any given category. The goal, according to the company, is to honor the "overachievers" while giving lesser-known, but equally stellar, products a chance to shine.

We celebrate the honor Trader Joe's is bestowing on perennial fan favorites with only a little reticence, as we sincerely hope the grocery chain known for suddenly discontinuing products, per CNN, won't let its new Hall of Fame morph into the Hall of Formerly Famous Products. However, we're keenly interested in how well-regarded items retired from the competition will shake up the results this year.

The first to be honored is TJ's Mandarin Orange Chicken. Introduced in 2004, the easy-to-prepare, sweet-and-savory chicken nuggets have earned top place among readers in the Favorite Overall and Best Entrée multiple times. And who can resist Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups? Introduced in 2010, the crave-able confections quickly became a fan favorite, repeatedly earning in the Best Desserts/Sweets category. 

Another peanut butter snack, Trader Joe's Peanut Butter Filled Pretzel Nuggets, joins the Hall of Fame as an inaugural member. Introduced in 1992, the crunchy treats have been a fan favorite and frequent Best Snack winner for three decades. Since its introduction in 2011, Trader Joe's Unexpected Cheddar has developed a loyal following and earned it the top spot in the Best Cheese category multiple times. Trader Joe's Soy Chorizo (also introduced in 2011) rounds out the roster of five inaugural inductees into the Hall of Fame. The spicy vegan protein takes its spot among the elite favorites due to its frequent showing in the Best Vegan/Vegetarian category.