<p>Trader Joe’s has come under fire recently by one of its former suppliers, according to an article published by the Los Angeles Business Journal. The article, written by Alfred Lee, explains that Maxim Marketing is allegedly blaming the retailer and one of its manufacturers for cutting them out of a multi-million dollar deal for its popular peanut butter filled pretzel snack item.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Terry Kroll, Owner and CEO of Maxim, maintains that Trader Joe’s is still a good, reputable company – instead, he argues that ConAgra, the manufacturer of the pretzel snack and one of the largest food packaging companies in North America, struck up a cheaper deal with the retailer during a decline in peanut prices last year. In the early 1980s, Maxim pioneered the revolutionary peanut butter filled pretzel snack and began to supply the pretzels to Trader Joe’s under the retailer’s private label, explains Lee.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Since last Fall however, Trader Joe’s switched from Maxim to ConAgra to cut out the middle man and go straight to the manufacturer. Since Maxim operates without its own factories, it used ConAgra to manufacture the pretzels until Trader Joe’s cut off ties with the supplier. This, in effect, led to Kroll's inability to manufacture the products, according to the article.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Trader Joe’s is infamous for keeping its suppliers secret, requiring most to sign a confidentiality agreement, says Lee. Regardless, since the retailer usually contracts directly with the manufacturer rather than the distributor, it remains to be seen whether or not a contract was truly breached.<hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">Stay tuned to AndNowUKnow as we continue following this pending litigation. </p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><p><a class="btn btn-sm btn-primary col-lg-12" style="white-space: normal;" href=" http://www.labusinessjournal.com/news/2014/feb/17/pretzel-supplier-alleges-twisted-tale/?page=1&" target="_new"> LA Business Journal</a></p><hr class="legacyRuler"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding"><hr class="invisible minimal-padding">
