Trader Joe’s reveals customers’ top produce picks

The results of Trader Joe’s 15th Annual Customer Choice Awards are in, and it seems shoppers of the Monrovia, Calif.-based grocer are bananas for produce.

Episode 70 of the "Inside Trader Joe’s Podcast" dives into the top shopper picks in categories ranging from snacks to beverages to produce and more. Hosted by Matt Sloan and Tara Miller of the Trader Joe’s marketing team, the podcast revealed the grocer’s top 5 most popular produce items.

Bananas was No. 1, and Teeny Tiny Avocados and honey crisp apples rounded out the top three.

“The consistency of the top three products in our produce category [is] pretty amazing,” said Miller, who noted that this year’s top trio were also the top three selected last year.

Trader Joe’s Persian cucumbers came in at No. 4.

“Please try Persian cucumbers,” Sloan said on the podcast. “They're so wonderful. They're aromatic.

“If ... someone says, ‘Oh, would you like a cup of spa water?’ And you wonder, what the heck is that? Well, it's sort of cucumber infused water,” Sloan continued. “Persian cucumbers are incredibly aromatic when you slice them, and they smell like a spa treatment. The best spa treatment I will probably never have.”

Miller recommends substituting sliced Persian cucumbers as a substitute for tortilla chips dipped in guacamole.

This is the first year Trader Joe’s Persian Cucumbers landed on the top 5 list in the produce category, Sloan said.

At No. 5, Trader Joe’s Lemony Arugula Basil Salad Kit also made the Annual Customer Choice Awards list for the first time.