Trader Joe's told her they were interested in selling her products, tasted them, stopped communications, and then released a new item uncannily similar to hers. - NBCAsianAmerica
Trader Joe’s "watered down" achaar resurfaces conversations about the grocery giant's history of cultural appropriation.Sakshi Venkatraman
Brooklyn Delhi products are already housed in national chains like Whole Foods and meal-prep brands like Blue Apron, so Agrawal wasn’t surprised when she was emailed by Trader Joe’s last January. A representative for the grocery giant told her they were interested in her products. “Customers were saying, ‘Oh my God, your garlic achaar is at Trader Joe’s,’” she said. “I remember getting those messages. My heart just dropped.”A viral TikTok posted last week brought the issue back to the surface for a national audience, accusing Trader Joe’s of co-opting and watering down traditionally South Asian products.
“We specifically decided not to call it pickle because we thought Americans were going to confuse it with, like, a dill pickle,” she said. “And we’re the only U.S.-made Indian pickle brand sold widely in mainstream American markets that spells achaar with two A’s, which is what was on Trader Joe’s label.”