When you think about Trader Joe’s, there is a good chance that you will love this store because of all its healthy eating opportunities. While you can argue that prices at Trader Joe’s are balanced between affordable and unreasonably pricey, it leads to plenty of reasons to avoid Trader Joe’s altogether. 

Looking at or treating Trader Joe’s as a traditional grocery store is okay, but it’s really more of a specialty grocer. There are plenty of atypical items you won’t find elsewhere, even though its stores are much smaller in many cases. This leads us to wonder if there are other grocers worth considering, even if you love Trader Joe’s. 

10. Hy-Vee 

• Locations: 285
• Known for: Full-service supermarket, bakery products, deli products, carryout food services
• Best things to buy: Locally-grown products, fresh fruits, vegetables
• 2024 Revenue: $13 billion 

Locally Grown Focus

One of the biggest reasons Hy-Vee has grown as a popular Trader Joe’s alternative is its emphasis on local growth. Hy-Vee emphasizes sourcing its fruits and vegetables from no more than 200 miles from each store location, which makes it a great contributor to the local community and economy. The company also promotes that its seafood is harvested and raised healthily, while its stores also have a registered dietitian in-house to help answer customer questions. 

9. Amazon Fresh

• Locations: 60
• Known for: Same-day delivery for Prime members, online and in-store shopping, low prices
• Best things to buy: Prepared foods, dairy, eggs, pantry staples, frozen produce, snack goods
• 2024 Revenue: N/A (joined with Amazon)

60 Stores And Counting

While there is no question that Amazon is looking to expand into the grocery space with its Whole Foods acquisition, Amazon Fresh also highlights its desire to focus on healthy items. The stores have become popular for their “Just Walk Out” payment experience. Still, selecting natural and organic healthy products continues to help Amazon Fresh grow its mind and market share wherever its stores are located. 

8. H-E-B

• Locations: 420
• Known for: Texas-specific grocery store
• Best things to buy: Texas-branded and Texas-grown products, Taste of San Antonio
• 2024 Revenue: $46.5 billion 

The Texas Favorite

If you’re living in Texas and haven’t yet stepped foot into an H-E-B location, there is every reason to do so as quickly as possible. H-E-B does a delicate dance of carrying plenty of organic and healthy favorites while catering to a Texas audience that loves Texas-grown products, including meat and poultry. Best of all, it heavily emphasizes low prices and top-quality products. 

7. Natural Grocers

• Locations: 168 
• Known for: Its manifesto of “What We Won’t Sell and Why,” which speaks to avoiding artificial colors and flavors
• Best things to buy: Vitamins, supplements, organic food, natural body care products
• 2024 Revenue: $1.24 billion 

The Family-Friendly Grocer

Best known as Vitamin Cottage Natural Grocers, this one-time door-to-door operation has quickly grown into a favorite among healthy food shoppers. With its company manifesto of “What We Won’t Sell and Why,” Natural Grocers has won over customers looking for a Trader Joe’s alternative that offers a promising selection of natural and organic foods and avoids any meats that use artificial hormones or antibiotics. 

6. Sprouts Farmers Market

• Locations: 442
• Known for: Bulk foods, vitamins, and supplements, packaged groceries
• Best things to buy: Meat, baked goods, dairy products, natural body care items
• 2024 Revenue: $6.38 billion

More Than A Farmers Market

Don’t let the name Sprouts “Farmers Market” fool you into thinking this online health grocer is nothing more than a retail farmers market. Across its 442 stores, Sprouts has a fantastic selection of healthy frozen foods, natural body care, and household items across the 23 states it operates in. There is no question that Sprouts is looking to break Trader Joe’s hold on the healthy market with better pricing and equally strong product selection. 

5. Thrive Market

• Locations: Online only
• Known for: E-commerce online healthy retailer, high-quality standards
• Best things to buy: Healthy items, organic groceries, healthy food alternatives like oils, vinegar, seasonings, packaged goods
• 2024 Revenue: $750 million 

The Online-Only Alternative

If you’re on board with doing most of your healthy food alternatives online, Thrive Market is simply the best alternative to Trader Joe’s. As the brand doesn’t have a retail footprint, you don’t have a chance to hold anything in your hand before ordering, but the company’s return policy is excellent, and its product selection is second to none. In 10 short years, Thrive Market has reached $750 million in revenue, which is a testament to how quickly it has won over customers with its assortment of healthy products. 

4. Costco

• Locations: 890
• Known for: Bulk everything, outstanding return policy, fabulous food court
• Best things to buy: Kirkland-branded products, produce, cereals, toilet paper, other pantry items
• 2024 Revenue: $254.5 billion 

The Bulk Warehouse

For anyone who wants to buy in bulk to spend less overall, there is simply no better grocery to do this than Costco. The best part is that Costco is more than just a grocer as it offers everything from electronics, pharmacy, clothing, and much more. While Costco is one of the few names on this list that requires a membership, paying for a membership gives you access to everything Costco stores and its outstanding return policy. 

3. Whole Foods

• Locations: 520 
• Known for: Hot-bar, salad bar, nut selection, healthy alternatives
• Best things to buy: Any 365-private label products, healthy foods like avocado ice cream, and bakery items
• 2024 Revenue: N/A

The Best Healthy Alternative

Whole Foods is probably the answer if you’re looking for the best healthy alternative to Trader Joe’s. These two grocery chains are widely regarded as the two largest healthy food alternatives. This includes everything from “healthier” potato chips and cereals, and both make substantial use of private-label options, while Whole Foods is larger at everything Trader Joe’s tries to do, making it the better choice. 

2. Aldi

• Locations: 2,443
• Known for: A no-frills shopping experience with a sizeable private-label product selection 
• Best things to buy: German foods, staple foods, pre-cooked frozen foods
• 2024 Revenue: $28.3 billion (globally)

Germany’s Finest Grocery

For anyone who has ever stepped foot into an Aldi grocery location, there is no question that it’s a unique experience. Not only are you responsible for bagging your groceries, but you also get to do it while picking out from one of the best selections of international, specifically German, groceries anywhere in the United States. Aldi’s prices are excellent, and it has a very strong private-label selection and healthy options to rival Trader Joe’s. 

1. Kroger

• Locations: 1,242 (Just Kroger branded)
• Known for: Outstanding rewards program, wide availability, quality, convenience, affordability
• Best things to buy: Produce, fruit, specialty pharmacy
• 2024 Revenue: $150.03 billion 

The Popular Grocery Store

As the nation’s fifth-largest grocery store, there is a pretty good chance you have a Kroger-branded store somewhere near you. Better yet, Kroger’s e-commerce program, which introduced deliverable groceries, even to locations where it doesn’t have a store, has helped give Kroger a foothold in the minds of grocery shoppers around the country. The company is also well known for being affordable and having a wide international selection. 

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