Well I’ve put it off long enough; it’s time to use my daily review to talk about the show I’ve seen referred to as the most listened to branded company podcast, and I couldn’t find any examples to disprove that claim.

Inside Trader Joe's

Look no further than the 4,200 reviews of the show on Apple Podcasts. I’ve only come across one other branded show reaching even the 2,000 mark - I’ll cover that another day, but here’s a hint: it’s a fiction podcast that’s been off the air for years.

Part of the magic of the show of course is the fervent love so many shoppers have for Trader Joe’s, their quirky brand voice, and the tasty and cheap private label products.

But just calling the podcast’s success an inevitable and non-repeatable consequence of the brand would sell short the craft of the show. It executes well on so many of the types of topics that branded podcasts can take on. Let’s just look at the latest handful of episodes.

With hosts Tara Miller & Matt Sloan, they had a “shopping list for fall” episode that focuses on delighting the listeners who love discovering the new products that rotate onto shelves at different times of year. They had two different “ICYMI” episodes that break down a retail concept and make it more understandable for the average shopper, specifically on how the company does product taste testing, and a quick primer on private label. Finally, in the middle of those episodes, they had a Q&A with the company’s CEO, showing they can also bring company news and stories to the podcast series.

For some branded shows this range of episode themes would be evidence that the show doesn’t have a clear enough focus. But for Trader Joe’s, it’s not a shopping show, or a retail industry show, the theme actually is that consumers love the brand and want to understand the inner workings of the company.