Trader Joe’s Is About to Release 10 Festive Vegan Products This Fall

Trader Joe’s latest products are typically announced only after they've been snuck onto store shelves and spotted by lucky customers, but this month, thanks to insider info, consumers can plan a trip to the retailer knowing that 10 new vegan products are about to land at TJ's across the country starting this week.

The grocery store chain will be debuting a selection of fall-inspired vegan products including pumpkin hummus, pumpkin cashew yogurt, pumpkin overnight oats, and pumpkin oat milk. Alongside the pumpkin-flavored plant-based items, the company is also introduced a sour gummy package in the shapes of cats and bats for its Halloween special.

The fall item debut news comes from Instagrammer Big Box Vegan, known for sharing insider product information about plant-based products in American retailers.

The autumnal products will also be accompanied by new products which feature oat milk, including vegan chocolate bars and vegan eggnog for the winter season. These new products join Trader Joe’s’ growing list of vegan products as the company continues developing new products across all food categories.

While Trader Joe’s has recently focused on developing its own store brand plant-based products, the grocery company will begin offering products from Barebells and Boursin. Soon, customers will be able to purchase two new flavors of Barebells’ protein bars: Hazelnut Nougat and Salty Peanut. These two protein bars will be the first plant-based Barebells products to debut stateside. The protein bars each contain 15 grams of protein and no sugar.

Trader Joe’s will also debut the Boursin Dairy-Free cheese spread, marking one of the first times a brick-and-mortar retailer will feature the product. The dairy-free spread is a plant-based take on the brand’s signature Garlic & Herbs cheese spread flavor. Boursin teamed up with the vegan giant Follow Your Heart to develop the plant-based cheese spread alternative.

Earlier this year, Trader Joe’s executives discussed the future of plant-based for the company, claiming that it planned to expand its offerings across all food categories in the coming year. During the chain’s podcast “Inside Trader Joe’s,” Director of Deli, Frozen Meat, Seafood, Meatless, and Fresh Beverage at Trader Joe’s Amy Gaston Morales announced that the company would be looking into more plant-based products.

Since then, the company has released several plant-based entrees including the Vegan Enchilada Casserole and the Vegan Meatless Meat Eaters Pizza. Trader Joe’s continues to develop new products to fit any meal from dinner to breakfast. In August, the company debuted a Tofu Scramble with Soy Chorizo, providing consumers with a completely vegan alternative for breakfast.

While Gaston-Morales announced that the company would focus on seafood alternatives, the company has been developing and releasing several meat alternatives over recent years. From the soy chorizo to the vegan sausages feature on the Vegan Meatless Meat Pizza, Trader Joe’s has increased its plant-based protein offerings significantly. Earlier this year, the company released a Vegan Pasta Bolognese meal that incorporated its plant-based protein into a flavorful red sauce. The frozen meal uses the Vegan Bolognese Style Pasta Sauce also released this year.

“We’re lucky to live in a time of pronounced proliferation of plant-based proteins,” the company described the frozen meal. “Nowadays, even dishes that are more or less defined by their meatiness are available in vegan form without sacrificing any of their signature texture or savory flavor.”

Fast-food restaurants have finally got the memo that their customer base isn’t just coming through for a burger, fried chicken, or a beef taco. Many now have plant-based foods and are coming up with creative, delicious ways to get more greens on the menu. Here are the 6 best fast-food chains with plant-based options on the menu.

Turns out there’s a lot more to rely on than a salad if you’re eating plant-based. Burger King has the Impossible Whopper featuring a meatless patty as well as a few secretly vegan options such as the French Toast Sticks and Hashbrowns.

Known for its mini square-shaped sliders, this hamburger chain jumped on the plant-based bandwagon at some participating locations. You can find an Impossible Slider on some White Castle menus.

This was the first national Mexican fast-food chain to offer Beyond Meat at the company’s 580 restaurants across the country. Del Taco has the Beyond Avocado Taco on the menu along with the Epic Beyond Original Mex Burrito and Avocado Veggie Bowl.

Another brand synonymous with beef burgers, Carl’s Jr. offers several plant-based options for veggie and plant lover such as Beyond Famous Star Burger and Guacamole Thickburger.

This fast-food restaurant may have been one of the first you frequented while transitioning to plant-based eating. That’s because Taco Bell has eight million vegetarian combinations and sells 350 million vegetarian items a year through menu substitutions or ordering off their vegetarian menu. In fact, they were the first quick-service restaurant to offer American Vegetarian Association (AVA) certified food options.

From the time it started offering breakfast sandwiches in 2006, the coffee conglomerate became a competitor in the fast-food space. You can get your favorite hot and cold beverages made with almond, coconut or oat milk but there are also plant-based food options available such as the Baja Black Bean Veggie Wrap, bagel with vegan cream cheese and Impossible Breakfast Sandwich.