Trader Joe's Fans Are Comparing Its New Snack To A Sugary Cereal

Love it or hate it, grocery shopping is a fact of life for most of us. You make a list, post it on your refrigerator (or store it in note form on your phone), and add to it as the week progresses and shopping day approaches. If you're a Trader Joe's shopper, you might keep two lists: one for the essentials, like milk, bread, meat, produce, and salad fixings, and another for the fun stuff that Trader Joe's is known for. Things like dips, sauces, and spreads, artisan pasta invented by a food podcast host, seasonal cupcake mix, four-cheese pastry rolls, Tres Leches cake (and other fancy desserts you don't have to bake yourself), and lemon ice cream studded with bits of shortbread cookies (per Bon Appétit).

Try to get through the cheese section without tossing a few Brie-licious-looking selections into your cart, like the fan-favorite marinated mozzarella. And then there's the danger zone: Snacks! Snacks of every savory and sweet description, from Everything But the Bagel potato chips and white cheddar corn puffs to chile spiced dried pineapple rings (per Parade).

Speaking of pineapple: Instagram user @traderjoeslist, who has more than a million followers, was thrilled to find the store's new chili pineapple kettle corn on the shelf for $2.49. The popular IGer shared, "OMG I am so excited to get a bag of this. My tastebuds approve of anything chili pineapple then combine it with kettle corn and that sounds dreamy. Plus it's gluten-free!” It's also 150 calories for a one-cup serving, according to the product label.

One normally finds popcorn, kettle corn, caramel corn, and other try-to-eat-just-one-handful temptations in the snack food aisle at TJ's, but some @traderjoeslist followers are suggesting the new product would be equally at home in the cereal aisle. "Tastes like Trix,” one follower wrote, in reference to the iconic fruit-flavored breakfast cereal made by General Mills. For a couple of other followers, the snack brought to mind another cereal entirely. "It's good!!! Spicy Fruity Pebbles,” said one. Said another, "I tried it!!! It gives Fruit Loops/Fruity Pebble vibes.”

Pineapple is clearly having a moment at Trader Joe's. IGers are also giving their ringing endorsement to another new pineapple-icious TJ's find, organic pineapple chunks. You can always add your own sprinkle of chili.