Who Makes Trader Joe's Pita Chips?

Trader Joe's is an affordable grocery store that doesn't skimp on quality with their creative branded products. While all of the products are labeled with the Trader Joe's name, there are some very well-known name brands behind some Trader Joe's products. Fans of the grocery store have become amateur sleuths to get to the bottom of these collaborative secrets between TJ's and name-brand manufacturers. 

Trader Joe's pita chips are a fan favorite, and customers, bloggers, and ex-employees all think that Stacy's makes Trader Joe's pita chips. According to an Eater article, a side-by-side comparison of the ingredients list of Stacy's and Trader Joe's pita chips reveals them to be identical. Reddit posts also assert that Stacy's makes Trader Joe's pita chips. When Redditors complained that many of the pita chip flavors have been discontinued, one Redditor responded, "Discontinuing them was sad. But, they're just Stacy's Pita Chips, so you can still get them somewhere."

Apparently, Stacy's Pita Chips could also be behind labels at Aldi and Safeway. However, Trader Joe's will never confirm our assumptions, nor will they share any other name-brand collaborators. Plus, according to a Reddit thread, "As the pandemic began, and supply chains got messy...Stacy's stopped manufacturing for Trader Joe's... [and] third parties altogether, and there is a new player in town." To date, the only flavor of pita chips you can find at Trader Joe's is salted pita chips. Whether they're a Stacy's dupe or not, they're still cheaper than most name-brand counterparts.

While many Redditors complained that the flavored pita chips were discontinued, salted pita chips are a blank canvas for all kinds of pairings you can purchase from Trader Joe's shelves. For example, you can take the pita chips in numerous snacking directions by sprinkling one of Trader Joe's many different seasoning blends over them. Add a hefty spoonful or two of seasoning to an open bag, clench it shut, and shake it to season. If the seasoning doesn't stick, you can add Pam cooking spray or even a spritz of liquid aminos to the bag.

The aglio e olio seasoning would put an herbaceous and earthy twist on pita chips that you could add to this Fatoush salad instead of toasting whole pieces of pita bread. Salted pita chips are also the original pairing for all kinds of hummus varieties — and luckily, Trader Joe's has many. If you're missing the garlic-parmesan-flavored pita chips like some Redditors, you can use the salted pita chips to accompany garlic spread dip, our personal favorite of all the Trader Joe's dips. Don't throw away all the broken pita chips that accumulate at the bottom of the bag as they'll become a delicious garnish for soups and salads.