Trader Joe's describes itself as "your neighborhood" or "your unique grocery store". Products sold include gourmet foods, organic foods, vegetarian food, unusual frozen foods, imported foods, kosher foods, domestic and imported wine (where local law permits), "alternative" food items, and basics like bread, cereal, eggs, dairy, coffee and produce. Non-food items include personal hygiene products, household cleaners, vitamins, pet food, plants, and flowers.
Trader Joe's sells many items from any of several of its own private labels. Such labels are quirkily named by the ethnicity of the food in question, such as Trader Jose's, (Mexican food) Trader Ming's, (Asian food) Baker Josef's, (bagels) Trader Giotto's, (Italian food) Trader Joe-San, (Japanese food) Arabian Joe's, (Middle Eastern food), JosephBrau (beer), Trader Johann's, (lip balm) Trader Jacque's, (imported French soaps) Joe's Diner, (certain frozen entrees) Joe's Kids, (Kid Foods) and Trader Darwin's (vitamins). By selling almost all of its products under its own label, Trader Joe's "skips the middle man" and buys directly from both local and international small-time vendors.[11]
Trader Joe's is the exclusive retailer of Charles Shaw wine, popularly known as Two Buck Chuck[9] because of its $1.99 a bottle price in California (although in some locales it sells for over $3 a bottle, due to varying state liquor taxes and transportation costs). Of the wine selection at Trader Joes, Coloumbe has said, "We built Trader Joe's on wine first, then food. I tasted 100,000 wines, and most weren't wonderful. They were submitted to us by desperate vintners." Along with Charles Shaw, Trader Joes is known for stocking a very large selection of California and New-World wines.[12]
