The Brand That Might Be Behind Trader Joe's Pretzel Slims

Trader Joe's is one of those chains that's beloved not only for its customer experience and breadth of offerings, but its proprietary products. These private-label favorites are part of how Trader Joe's keeps its prices cheap, but they also create loyal customers out of what may otherwise be casual shoppers.

While TJ's superfans may clamor for packages of the store's name-brand snacks, some also go down deep rabbit holes attempting to determine who is actually behind making those products. One especially popular mainstay in the Trader Joe's canon is the pretzel slims, which are much like regular pretzels — if they were steamrolled. These flat, crispy, salty treats may not be unfamiliar to snacking experts, though, as they bear a strong resemblance to Snack Factory Pretzel Crisps.

The speculation that Snack Factory is the true producer of the beloved TJ's product goes beyond appearance, however. A glance at the strikingly similar ingredients list on both packages deepens this theory. Snack Factory's label starts with enriched wheat flour, followed by sugar, salt, and malt syrup, while the Trader Joe's version lists unbleached enriched flour, invert sugar syrup, salt, and malted barley.

Like most Trader Joe's offerings, the fun doesn't stop with the standard version of a product — and, in the case of this snack, even its variations can be cited as evidence about its manufacturing. TJ's Pretzel Slims get dressed up for the holidays in a sweet white dip and speckled with what appear to be crushed up peppermint candies, and Snack Factory's seasonal counterpart looks decidedly similar (although the package describes its enrobing as white chocolate, while Trader Joe's uses a more ambiguous phrase: creamy coating). You can also find both company's flattened pretzels coated in dark chocolate, in which case there's not a single distinction between the two ingredients labels.

While the ingredients read almost identically though, there is one difference that might indicate a distinction in size. Both labels suggest a serving of 1 ounce, but Snack Factory quantifies that as about 11 pieces, and Trader Joe's indicates the same amount can be as much as 16 crisps.

Regardless of who makes what or at which scale, these crisps are delicious however you eat them at home, be it snacking, dipping, or even using them as a secret ingredient to make ridiculously good s'mores that will cover both your sweet and salty bases. In the end, there are some Trader Joe's secrets you may wish you knew sooner, and others you may not need to know at all.