Trader Joe’s has adjusted the price of its bananas for inflation for the first time in 20 years.
Shoppers could always depend on purchasing one banana for just 19 cents. This price has been maintained since 2004. However, due to inflation, the price has increased to 23 cents each at Trader Joe’s stores nationwide.
A Trader Joe’s spokesperson told CNN, “We only change our prices when our costs change, and after holding our price for Bananas at 19¢ each for more than two decades, we’ve now reached a point where this change is necessary.”
Trader Joe’s famously sells bananas in singles instead of bunches, allowing customers to handpick which bananas they want and how many they want to buy. With the increase in price, four bananas (which is about a pound) will now cost $0.92 plus tax.
The company’s 19-cent bananas are so popular with Trader Joe’s shoppers that the item made it into its 15th Annual Customer’s Choice Awards winners list. The website states that the store’s customers “go bananas for bananas.”
The fruit was on the list for the fifth time in the store’s history. Runners-up for the top produce item include Teeny Tiny Avocadoes, Honeycrisp Apples, Persian Cucumbers, and Lemony Arugula Basil Complete Salad Kit.
To understand why the grocer started selling single bananas, Trader Joe’s website tells the story of a regular customer who passed by bunches of bananas and decided not to buy them in its Sun City, Arizona, store. The company’s CEO asked, “Excuse me, ma’am, but why aren’t you buying those bananas?”
She reportedly told him she would rather purchase her bananas individually than in bunches. The site says, “At her age, she explained, she wanted to take life one banana at a time. Well, we listened, and that’s why Trader Joe’s sells bananas one banana at a time.”
According to data collected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the price of bananas has remained at a steady $0.62–$0.64 per pound since November 2021. Therefore, the average cost per banana in the U.S. would be about 16 cents per banana.
