If you’ve shopped at Trader Joe’s for any time, you’re aware of the heartbreak that often comes with loving a TJ’s product. You discover a favorite, only for it to disappear from the shelves a few weeks later because it’s seasonal—like the Banana Pudding Flavored Ice Cream—or worse, discontinued—like the Patio Potato Chips.
Newbie Trader Joe’s customers must learn to stock up on a product if they love it, especially if it’s seasonal, because it may not be available the next time they push that red cart through the crowded aisles. Another thing they need to learn is that every once in a while, the powers that be at Trader Joe’s choose to make a seasonal item a permanent item, and it can be a cause for celebration.
Well, that’s happening this week. A fan-favorite—formerly available only during the holidays—will now be permanently on Trader Joe’s shelves for year-round snacking in all its sweet and salty deliciousness.
Trader Joe’s Made Its Beloved Step Up to the Snack Bar Mix a Permanent Item
You can never go wrong with a good crunchy snack mix. The popularity of the 1970s Chex Party Mix and all its variations—such as Spicy Buffalo Chex Mix or the sweet-and-salty Reindeer Food mix—taught us that. Simply pop the yumminess in your mouth by the handful, no utensils needed.
Trader Joe’s sells various snack mixes. The seasonal Springle Jangle, which includes candy-coated pretzels, butter-toffee peanuts, peanut butter cups, and more, is just one of them. Around the winter holidays, TJ’s fans usually find Step Up to the Snack Bar Mix on the store shelves. The mix includes honey mustard pretzel pieces, chili lemon corn sticks, honey-roasted peanuts, honey-roasted sesame sticks, corn chips with flax seeds, and Trader Joe’s Cheddar Rocket Crackers.
Nothing about that mix, ingredients, or name screams “the holidays” to us. There’s no reason the crunchy, salty, and sweet blend can’t be sold all year. And now, Trader Joe’s is finally giving fans what it wants by doing just that—selling it year-round.
We first saw the news on a Trader Joe’s fan Instagram account, @traderjoesnew. Their caption reads, “Breaking News!!!! the snack bar mix in the black tin around for the holidays is now an everyday item!!” The Instagram user even commented that a TJ’s employee confirmed the news.
The comments were nothing but positive. “Best news ever!” exclaimed one excited Trader Joe’s shopper, and others chimed in with comments such as, “Yay! This mix is so yummy,” “Oh em geeeeeee I’m so excited!” and, “bought mine today.”
Fans in a Trader Joe’s Reddit thread share that sentiment. ”This is literally the product I search for all year long. It’s sooo damn good,” wrote one Reddit user. ”I’ll take 10,” added another. One Redditor wrote, ”I am quite literally crying tears of joy.”
So break out your shopping list and add Step Up the Snack Bar Mix to it for your next TJ’s run, so you don’t forget to throw a tin of this super popular mix in your shopping cart. Or maybe throw in two tins—that first one is bound to disappear from your home quickly.