An Open Letter To Costco About Their Kirkland Brand Peanut Butter

August 20, 2012

Dear Costco,

Towards the end of last year, you stopped carrying your Kirkland Organic Peanut Butter. As soon as I saw the asterisk on the price tag, I knew it was time to stock up.

We stocked up on your organic peanut butter and within a few months you began carrying a new, non-organic peanut butter. I was ok with that, and so were many others that I had spoken to about the peanut butter. We were just happy to have our two ingredient (peanuts and salt) peanut butter back.

Fast forward to two weeks ago. I made my weekly Costco run and found none of your new peanut butter. I asked a nice gentleman where it was, and he assured me that this particular location was just out of it for now.

I quickly emailed my friends at Time Dog and explained my crisis situation. Emily from Time Dog provided me with some awful and some wonderful news.

Awful news:

None of the Costco warehouses in Tucson carry the Kirkland brand peanut butter anymore. It has been discontinued.

Wonderful news:

Emily had found a few articles for me about the best natural peanut butter, and some of the brands mentioned had the same two ingredients as my beloved Kirkland brand peanut butter.

I found a replacement. Trader Joe’s Valencia Peanut Butter with Sea Salt is comparable to our favorite peanut butter. 

The problem? I shop at Costo weekly, not Trader Joe’s. Trader Joe’s is nowhere near where I shop.

And?

When I bought 6 jars of peanut butter (plus one jar of peanut butter plus flax seed) at TJ’s yesterday, the cashier asked if I was making cookies. Because maybe other people don’t buy 6 jars of peanut butter at one time?

We eat peanut butter on everything – on waffles and pancakes, on bananas, in my spinach smoothies, on sandwiches, and on fruits and veggies like apples and carrots.

Am I using my blog to whine about your decision to not carry Kirkland brand peanut butter anymore?

Yes.

I’m sorry, but yes.

The other peanut butter choices in your store have too many ingredients, and taste completely bland. You have spoiled me with your awesome product, and now I am ruined.

I’d like to buy Kirkland peanut butter again.

In the big jars.

At Costco.

Please.

PleasePleasePleasePleaseWithABigCheeryOnTop,

Your biggest fan and most enthusiastic customer,

Becca

———

Has a company ever discontinued your favorite product? Did you ever find a suitable replacement? 

Tagged as: food, Tucson

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{ 39 comments… read them below or add one }

1 jen August 20, 2012 at 1:55 pm

I’ll have to check if our costco still sells it; happy to buy and ship to you.

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2 Becca August 20, 2012 at 2:54 pm

You’re the best :) I’m SO bummed! How do people get so stuck on a brand?

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3 Jessica @ Quirky Bookworm August 20, 2012 at 2:11 pm

Hm. I bet there’s some sort of natural PB you can order on Amazon… :)

Or, (somewhat to my surprise) it sounds pretty easy to make in a food processor! http://www.amazon.com/Easy-Homemade-Pantry-Staples-ebook/dp/B008VBYJBQ/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1345497077&sr=1-3&keywords=mandi+ehman
Jessica @ Quirky Bookworm´s last blog post – Summer Reading Club: August Link-Up

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4 Becca August 20, 2012 at 2:55 pm

I thought about that! Do you know that the Fry’s in Sahuarita has a peanut butter maker in their natural section? I should try that!

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5 Cameron August 20, 2012 at 2:19 pm

Due to peanut allergies I wouldn’t know what peanut butter and salt tastes like. It must be good I’m guessing. :)

Growing up in Chicago we had Oscar-Mayer Summer Sausage in lunch meat form (not in the long link that you cut up for hors d’oeuvres), but ever since we left Chicago we can’t find it anywhere. I’m not sure if it’s discontinued but I sure miss the taste. A nice sandwich of summer sausage, white bread, mustard, and munster would be good about now.

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6 Becca August 20, 2012 at 2:56 pm

Isn’t that crazy, how we find one product and love it?

I’ll look to see if I can find that here for you :)

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7 Savannah August 20, 2012 at 2:33 pm

I had the same problem with my local Cost Co, ( my problem was that they did not carry coffee creamer, mind you I live in Utah where the coffee drinkers are a minority) I talked to the manager about this and he suggested going to the web site, ordering it and having it shipped to your local store, I guess they will throw it on the truck and you can pick it up at customer service… you can try this.

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8 Becca August 20, 2012 at 2:56 pm

Ooh, that’s a great idea!

Thank you, Savannah! Did it work for you?

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9 Jen August 20, 2012 at 2:48 pm

I was just at Costco yesterday and I think they had some of the Kirkland PB… you want I should send you some?

And yes, I hate when a store stops making my favorite brand of things. I have not ever been able to find a replacement.
Jen´s last blog post – Happiness that is Swimming and Peeing

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10 Becca August 20, 2012 at 2:57 pm

You’re awesome, Jen. I think I’m good – I’m going to have to get used to being without it eventually! The TJ’s peanut butter is a good replacement, I just had to voice my … well, complain. I just had to complain.

;)

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11 Lyn August 20, 2012 at 3:05 pm

For me it was Sam’s Club Dan T’s raspberry chipolte sauce … (they have no seeds – vs. all other brands I find that do have seeds .. and hubby does not like seeds) .. Well Sam’s Club has it intermittently at best… So I overpay and order it online if I need it…

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12 Becca August 26, 2012 at 12:09 pm

We get so stuck on brands… and I am right with you -I don’t like raspberry seeds, but love raspberries!

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13 Bonnie August 20, 2012 at 3:17 pm

Hi Becca. I’ve always liked Laura Scudders Peanut Butter, and they have an organic version of it. You can probably pick it up at Fry’s or Safeway. I don’t know how the price per ounce compares with the ones you’ve been getting, but I’m interested in knowing if you find out.

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14 Becca August 26, 2012 at 12:10 pm

Oooh, I’ll try that! I’ll happily pay more if I have to, I’m just stuck on the two ingredient piece :)

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15 Becca August 26, 2012 at 12:10 pm

And… I’m laughing a little because you definitely know about my love of peanut butter ;)

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16 Gina August 20, 2012 at 3:55 pm

You can come visit me in Vegas and buy it from my Costco.
Gina´s last blog post – *Just Released* $0.55 off 2 HORMEL Chili products

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17 Becca August 26, 2012 at 12:11 pm

I’m on my way! Is my room ready?

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18 Leah August 20, 2012 at 4:03 pm

I noticed the same thing, Becca and I’m also disappointed. The first time I saw the Organic PB at Costco I was excited because PB is on my “non-negotiable” list of things to buy Organic because peanuts grow underground, and theirs was affordable a tasted good. (I don’t buy everything Organic, but there’s a list of items that i will not buy unless they are Organic). Now that we are a family of 5, I could totally justify shopping at Costco on a weekly basis, but I don’t because they dont carry enough organic options for me…Boo.
Leah´s last blog post – Happy Day for Youth On Their Own

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19 Becca August 26, 2012 at 12:11 pm

I agree, Leah – they don’t have many organic options. Every once in a while they get something, but not much seems to stay. I wonder why?

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20 Kelly @eclecticmommy August 20, 2012 at 4:15 pm

I love Krusteaz Oat Bran muffins. In fact they used to carry it at Costco. Our family bought it growing up. When I got a house of my own the only place I could find it in town was Basha’s. Then they stopped carrying it. Thankfully the Krusteaz website has a product locator. I found it, but the closest location was in CA. So on a trip I bought 6 boxes, and when that ran out, bought a 5 lb. box on Amazon. I loved those muffins.

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21 Becca August 26, 2012 at 12:12 pm

Crazy how we fall in love with stuff and then they take it away!

And I love Amazon for things like that – they seem to have a lot that I can’t find in stores.

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22 Czg August 20, 2012 at 8:57 pm

They told me the people who were making their peanut butter sold the peanut farm. I like the new natural PB they carry.

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23 Becca August 26, 2012 at 12:13 pm

HOW could they sell the farm, and WHY didn’t Costco buy it?

Things I would change if I were CEO…

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24 Mindi August 21, 2012 at 9:49 am

What a bummer. We have yet to start shopping at a warehouse because I am not sold on the idea if we will save money and what brands they carry. I buy a lot organic too and haven’t had a chance to price/brand compare at BJs and Sams Club. This reminds me that I need to especially as the boys get older and start eating more. Wow you go through A LOT of peanut butter! :) It’s good stuff.
Trader Joe’s is constantly getting rid of items I really like. They use to have great potato dumplings which they no longer carry. Alexa got rid of their frozen mashed potatoes too and I really loved them.
Mindi´s last blog post – Language Activities: How to Grow Language Skills with Cars and Trucks

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25 Becca August 26, 2012 at 12:14 pm

BIG bummer. I think we save in meat alone. The pb was a bonus. We also love getting gift cards there because we seem to frequent the same restaurants over and over, so $80 for a $100 gift card rocks :)

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26 Gramma Teetsie Thompson August 21, 2012 at 2:54 pm

Teddies PB with Flaxseed. That is what my trainer has me eating. Very good. If you would like I can send you a jar if you don’t have that out there. And, since you have gotten to be little Suzi Homemaker, why not try making your own. Then you will move on and bottle it and it can be “Our Crazy Peanut Butter”

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27 Becca August 26, 2012 at 12:14 pm

I haven’t heard of Teddie’s, but I found that at Trader Joe’s and I love it!

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28 Becca August 26, 2012 at 12:14 pm

And I’m onto the peanut butter…. brilliant!

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29 Stephanie August 22, 2012 at 10:24 pm

I am sorry to hear this news. We actually have Kirkland brand peanut butter in our refrigerator right now (LOVE it). Have you tried looking at the Costco on I-10? That’s where we bought it last.
Stephanie´s last blog post – A Brief History of Maytag

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30 Becca August 26, 2012 at 12:15 pm

That’s where I first realized they were out, and Time Dog looked into the other local stores. Gone.

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31 Jessica@Team Rasler August 23, 2012 at 6:27 am

Yes, we love the Kirkland brand PB! It’s tough to find a decent PB that doesn’t have a bunch of other ingredients. Whenever people suggest products to me from TJ, I always sigh. I already shop at 3 different groceries stores, and I simply cannot add a fourth. Then again, for PB, I would make an exception, because we eat it like it’s going out of style here, too.

If Costco still sells it in other places, maybe they’ll reconsider it for your store if you ask for it every time you go in! It’ll seem like, “Man, people keep asking for that!” They won’t know it’s you. You can bring handy disguises if you’re worried.
Jessica@Team Rasler´s last blog post – The devil inside

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32 Becca August 26, 2012 at 12:17 pm

I feel the same way about TJ’s. It’s too far away, and just another store to add to my list.

I am all over the disguise idea!

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33 Ken S October 2, 2012 at 5:48 pm

The Kirkland Natural Peanut Butter is gone from South Florida and worse they’re carrying “Jif Natural Peanut Butter”. I guess Sugar, and Palm Oil are natural ingredients in peanut butter. But it won’t be in our house.

C’mon Costco!

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34 joanne Rojas January 22, 2013 at 12:56 pm

Amen to that Ken!!! Jif peanut butter is terrible! Kirklands was the best! I now buy from Whole foods, but it’s still not as good as the Kirkland brand!!! :(

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35 David R October 22, 2012 at 1:55 pm

The reason they quit carrying it was and is simple: the 2011 organic peanut crop was terrible. The yields insanely low. They couldn’t get sufficient quantity of organic peanuts to fulfill their needs so they didn’t produce any at all. While Georgia’s crop was at record levels this year, sadly Georgia isn’t a major producer of organic peanuts. With the recalls going on currently, we can only hope Costco can source the peanuts and find a processor. Costco wrote about why they discontinued the peanut butter in their Connections magazine last fall (well, the parts they knew then!). I don’t recall but I think they were one of the largest organic peanut butter labels.

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36 Clarisa January 24, 2013 at 11:02 am

We were also bummed this week when we learned that Kirkland Peanut Butter has been discontinued. A quick google revealed that it was on a recall list for Salmonella poisoning, as was the Trader Joe’s brand. Here is the CDC web page, http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/CORENetwork/ucm320413.htm
Check the UPC codes on your stock. The web page encourages comsumers to return unopened jars that have not expired for a refund. In November, the FDA revoked the registration for the New Mexico plant that manufactured the peanut butter. None of this was mentioned by the Costco employee that I asked (though, in fairness, he probably didn’t know.) But it may have more to do with the recent discontinuation than even the peanut shortage. Unfortunately, it also probably means that they might not be bringing this particular brand back ever.

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37 Karen February 23, 2013 at 9:30 am

I too miss the Kirkland brand, fortunately Costco Canada sells an excellent replacement called Nut n Better which I now stock up on to take to my winter home in SoCal!

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38 Becca March 4, 2013 at 10:47 am

Oh, yum!! I found a similar replacement at Safeway here – it’s getting us through!

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39 Tempie Roberts April 18, 2013 at 12:59 pm

I also love the Kirkland peanuts and salt only brand peanut butter. You eat it like I eat it. I do without the bread and just smear it on my morning banana. I found, a long time ago, before I found Kirkland that Smuckers and Laura Scudders carry peanut butter that is only peanuts and salt, thereby decades ago, spoiling me for all the other peanut butters on the shelves. I don’t want all that junk. ewww. Out here in Oregon I found Adam’s brand at the local stores. When I first got here I ordered Smuckers online. If CostCo isn’t going to offer the product anymore, I have the Adam’s but will start ordering the Smuckers again, I like the taste better. Shame on you CostCo and you’re losing business.

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