[Review] Trader Joe’s releases a wide range of fall themed items

Lily Singer, Senior Arts & Leisure Editor and Senior Opinons Editor

As fall rolls around, various stores and restaurants have started to release their themed products to help everyone get into the season. Two popular coffee chains, Dunkin’ Donuts and Starbucks, boast a lengthy autumnal menu complete with numerous pumpkin flavored drinks. Stores like Walmart and Target have shelves stocked with spooky decorations, candy and costumes, while pumpkin patches throughout the community have opened up.

One brand in particular that tends to stick out each fall season, due to their wide array of themed products, is the popular grocery store Trader Joe’s. With over 550 locations across the nation, Trader Joe’s is known for their low prices and unique food items. The store not only stocks food, but also drinks, skincare, flowers, plants, dog food and home decorations.

They often release products based on the seasons, although fall is one of the main seasons they focus on. Each fall season, Trader Joe’s seems to outdo themselves, releasing an ever widening list of autumnal themed products, many of which become fan-favorites. Most of Trader Joe’s fall themed items are centered around the classic fall flavors such as maple, butternut and a whole lot of pumpkin.

Most locations have begun carrying these themed products as early as Sept. 5, ensuring that everyone has more than enough time to get their hands on the items they want to try.

Their fall menu includes many different types of themed pastas, such as organic fall zucchette pasta, butternut squash Mac & Cheese, harvest spaghetti squash spirals and Honey roasted pumpkin ravioli.
In the midst of what is widely recognized as Pumpkin Season, Trader Joe’s Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese has become a superstar in its own right. This new classic is composed of mezzi rigatoni pasta, a perfect three cheese blend of cheddar, gouda and parmesan, butternut squash purée and a sprinkle of seasonal spices like nutmeg and sage. For just $3.49, make sure to get your hands on this delicious comfort food before it sells out.
There is also the Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese Bites, where the rigatoni from the Butternut Squash Mac & Cheese is switched to macaroni and divided into bite sized balls, dipped in batter, rolled in bread crumbs and fried until crispy. The bites come with 10 balls for just $3.99.
Trader Joe’s have also transformed some traditional cultural foods into fall flavors such as sweet cinnamon filled korean pancakes, mini spicy pumpkin samosas, fall harvest salsa and pumpkin spice hummus.

Many fall themed options can be found in the dessert section including pumpkin flavored ice cream, caramel apple mochi, pumpkin biscotti and pumpkin flavored joe-joes, the Trader Joe’s equivalent of Oreos.
One of the best fall themed additions this year are the apple cider donuts which are made for Trader Joe’s by a family in Western Massachusetts. Their secret (or not-so-secret) ingredient is in the name—the Donuts get their moist and fluffy texture from real apple cider. The donuts are hand rolled in generous amounts of cinnamon and sugar, straight out of the fryer. They are being sold in boxes of six for just $4.49.
Another delicious fall dessert is the limited edition salted maple ice cream which is thick, creamy and rich, flavored with real maple syrup and balanced with a sprinkle of sea salt. To really elevate its sweet and salty excellence, there is a salted maple-flavored swirl throughout. A pint is on sale for just $3.49.
There are also different interactive, fall themed baking kits such as the caramel apple dipping kit and the haunted chocolate cookie house. The caramel apple kit includes decadent caramel, chopped dry roasted peanuts, festively colored sprinkles and six hardwood sticks- everything you could need to turn your apple into the autumn treat you desire.

In order to make the apples, all you must do is heat the caramel, dip the apples and decorate. It’s available for a limited time, so pick one up while you can for just $6.99.

They also sell different baking mixes so people can bake their own fall treats such as the cinnamon roll blondie bar baking mix, pumpkin bread mix and cornbread mix.

Trader Joe’s goes beyond just food with their fall selections, offering different pumpkin skin care such as pumpkin body butter and vanilla pumpkin hand soap and hand lotion. They also sell a pumpkin overnight face mask that includes pumpkin fruit extract and papaya enzymes that are guaranteed to make your skin feel moisturized and refreshed when you wake up the next morning.

They are also selling many different themed decorations to ensure that everyone can become immersed in the fall season. They have cinnamon brooms, which are small brooms made out of pine straws and dressed in cinnamon oil. Many use the brooms to ward off negative energy and evil spirits and the brooms can be placed over the front door as a spiritual barrier.

Some other decorations include mini succulent plants that are in different colorful skull pots as well as other small succulents that are in different skeleton pots.

They also have different fall scented accessories, such as the honeycrisp candle and the vanilla pumpkin scented candle. The candles are made out of quality ingredients such as lead-free cotton wick and neutral soy wax blend, which allows the candle’s cozy, fall fragrance to really shine through.

With just a simple flick of a match, your space will be filled with the scent of warm, creamy vanilla and sweet, spiced pumpkin. Each 5.7 ounce candle comes in a convenient, lidded tin and is only $3.99, so you can buy several to illuminate all those crisp fall evenings.

Also, you do not need to go to a pumpkin patch to get a good pumpkin to show off or carve either as Trader Joe’s sells different sizes and colors of pumpkins and gourds.

Whatever you need to get into the fall season you can likely find at Trader Joe’s whether it be a scented candle, delicious dessert or innovative flavor. For a low price, you are able to try many different fall themed foods and decorate your house. Make sure to check out Trader Joe’s and try their new items before it is too late.