Wondering where to get the most exotic, niche, or just plain delicious groceries? For many, the grocery chain Trader Joe’s is the answer. However, if you love the popular Italian American seafood stew, cioppino, you may find yourself wondering: is Trader Joe’s cioppino discontinued?
Trader Joe’s Italian American seafood stew, entitled Cioppino Seafood Stew, was popular for it’s rich flavor made from Pacific Ocean ingredients and for its cheap pricing. However, in the year 2022, Trader Joe’s made the decision to discontinue their Cioppino Seafood Stew in favor of other, more popular items.
In this article, we will cover the history of cioppino at Trader Joe’s, the impact of the stew’s discontinuation, and the response of the Trader Joe’s company to the discontinuation of their popular product in general. We will even provide you with the answers to some frequently asked questions relevant to this topic! Let’s get started.
History of Cioppino at Trader Joe’s
In it’s time being open and serving customers, Trader Joe’s has done better than many grocery chains when it comes to providing hard-to-find items.
Some of these, they manufacture themselves. For this reason, products like their Cioppino stew gain popularity and then sell out quickly due to the limited amount of places they can be purchased from.
The Cioppino stew was popular for many reasons. One of these was the bountiful ingredients, sourced directly from the Pacific. These can be seen in the ingredients list below:
- Clams
- Scallops
- Shrimp
- Mussels
- Wine
- Olive Oil
- Garlic
- Onions
These made for an incredibly flavorful dish with a full nutritional profile. It was often eaten with toast or crackers thanks to it’s great function as a dipping sauce, too! According to Trader Joe’s, the soup was originally created by Cioppino, an Italian American San Franciscan and fisherman by trade.
Cioppino was only around $6 U.S. dollars, and for that amount of money, customers could enjoy a whole pound of the delicious stew.
This made it a type of bargain, especially for the variety of ingredients within, and shoppers began indicating that it was a favorite by buying it regularly.
However popular Cioppino’s Seafood Stew was at Trader Joe’s for a time, in 2022, the company decided to discontinue it. This is likely because, as much as fans of the stew enjoyed it, it was simply not being purchased often enough or in enough bulk to keep it around.
Instead, Trader Joe’s stopped selling the stew in order to resource products that would be even more popular.
Impact of Cioppino’s Discontinuation on Trader Joe’s Customers
Trader Joe’s customers were outraged, and rather disappointed to learn that Cioppino’s Seafood Stew would no longer be available to them at their local Trader Joe’s.
For many, this cheaply-priced, but high-quality stew had become not just a favorite, but a staple in the kitchen from week to week.
This frustrated reaction can be seen on various social media outlets reviewing the product, where customers flocked to voice their sadness at losing the seafood stew. Customers have had to hunt for replacements in flavor profile.
Let’s take a look at some of the alternatives to Cioppino’s Seafood Stew, found below:
- Homemade Recipes – As unique as Trader Joe’s version of the stew may have seemed, some customers simply decided to try and make their own. The Food Network has even come out with a four-and-a-half star recipe featuring shallots, white wine, mussels, clams, and fish fillets such as salmon or halibut.
- Phillips Foods – Phillips Foods produces their own Cioppino-style soup, and it can be purchased at alternate grocery stores to Trader Joe’s. Some of the ingredients that are reminiscent, though not exactly the same, to Trader Joe’s version, include celery, chili pepper, and garlic!
- Sam’s Club – Sam’s Club, a popular store to purchase items in bulk, makes their own version of Cioppino in a hefty 2.5 pound portion. In addition to the larger size, Sam’s Club Cioppino includes ingredients like mussels, Italian tomatoes, and swai!
Trader Joe’s Response to Discontinuing Cioppino’s
Although customers searched for their own alternatives, in some cases, when Trader Joe’s decided to stop making Cioppinos, this was not their only course of action. Trader Joe’s, themselves, have issued a statement regarding discontinued items.
Trader Joe’s insists that the decisions they make to discontinue a product like Cioppino’s is always based on whether or not customers liked it enough to buy it in high quantities.
When Cioppino’s was selling well, it earned it’s place on the shelf as a favorite.
However, over time, Trader Joe’s decided that they would be able to create some alternatives that were even better than Cioppino’s Seafood Stew. These can be seen in the list below:
- Tomato Feta Soup – Although not exactly the same in terms of seafood content, Trader Joe’s Tomato Feta Soup does still have that Italian-American flair to it. As they are missing their beloved Cioppino’s, fans might be able to find some satisfaction in the pasty, richly flavored tomato and cheese soup.
- Kimchi ; Tofu Soup – For those with an allergy or no qualms eating a substitute without meat, the Kimchi and Tofu soup includes a few of the same ingredients and may be a suitable replacement for Cioppino’s.
Frequently Asked Questions
Check out our frequently asked question section below!
Why Does Trader Joe’s Discontinue Popular Products?
The most common reason for a discontinuation by Trader Joe’s is that the product was simply not selling as well as the company would have liked.
To fix this problem, Trader joe’s removes the product and dedicates it’s resources to creating even better ones!
Is Trader Joe’s Discontinuing Cat Food?
Trader Joe’s has discontinued some of the cat and dog food they used to manufacture and sell, including Turkey ; Giblets Dinner Premium Cat Food, Ocean Fish, Salmon ; Rice Dinner Premium Cat Food, and Grain Free Salmon Recipe Cat Food.
Final Thoughts
To sum it all up, Trader Joe’s Cioppono’s was an Italian-American based seafood soup that was popular with customers for great flavor and an even better price. However, in 2022, customers were saddened to find that Trader Joe’s Cioppino was discontinued, likely due to a dip in sales over time.
With that being said, customers can find other brands of Cioppino’s at other grocery locations, such as Sam’s Club, or even create their own using the variety of recipes online.
If worse comes to worse, Trader Joe’s does provide a Discount Products form which customers can fill out and use to plead for their favorite to return!