inside costco
The sign
of value
New Kirkland Signature
food items on the way
Other Kirkland Signature items
scheduled to arrive at your local
Costco in the next few months:
• Dried cherries
• Honey
• Multi-grain sandwich thins
• Wholesome fruit and nut
blend packs
• Various wines
(To learn more about these wines, go to
Costco.com, click on “Costco Connection
magazine” and then “Kirkland Signature
Wine Connection.”)
By Tim Talevich
I CONSIDER MY family’s Costco grocery list
similar to those of many families. It includes a
variety of fresh fruit and vegetables, several
frozen items such as salmon or chicken, and
staples—pasta sauce, rice and canned foods,
to mention a few. Depending on the occasion,
we add extras such as chips, bread and buns,
sauces and dips from the coolers and any
number of items from the bakery.
Many of these items have the Kirkland
Signature™ label. We don’t hesitate to grab
them, and in fact look for them—the quality is
excellent and the price is right, usually notice-ably lower than the name-brand product.
Costco created this line of private-label
products to offer members a smart buying
option and to control quality, packaging and
pricing. Here’s a look at a few new Kirkland
Signature food items that are taking their
place next to the traditional standards.
Fine European cookies
A treat every holiday season are the
Kirkland Signature European Cookies with
Belgian Chocolate, arriving this month.
N W, BA, SD, LA, SE, M W/TX
“They’re perfect for gifts, entertaining or just a
personal indulgence,” says buyer Kristen Hayes.
The 3-pound tins hold traditional European
biscuits, from bâtonnets to wafers, enrobed in
fine Belgian chocolate and adorned with festive decorations—a pleasure for the eyes and
the taste buds.
Say cheese
The emphasis in the new Kirkland
Signature Cheese Pizza is on cheese: It’s more
than 30 percent cheese, compared to 24 percent for a leading national brand, says Costco
buyer David Tran. And for the typical price of
three frozen pizzas in a supermarket ($9.99),
at Costco you get four 10½-inch pizzas.
Costco’s new pizza has a light breadcrumb
crust with just a touch of honey, topped by a
robust Italian sauce, with no hydrogenated oil
or preservatives added. It’s a great cheese pizza
by itself, or you can dress it up with pepperoni,
other meats or toppings such as tomatoes, feta
cheese, fresh mozzarella, pesto and/or spinach
(all available at Costco, of course). “You can
create your own pizzeria experience with the
toppings,” David says.
Each pizza is individually wrapped and
can be ready for serving from freezer to plate
in about 12 minutes. That’s not bad for a
quick school-week dinner or a treat during
the baseball playoffs.
A superb chicken stock
Chicken stock is an essential in any
kitchen. Costco’s Kirkland Signature Chicken
touch of salt. But some manufacturers cut
corners with low-quality ingredients and
additives. Not Costco, says buyer Shauna
Lopez. “Ours is made with fresh ingredients,
not with byproducts and
flavoring,” she explains.
“It makes for an excel-
lent flavor profile that
won’t be overpowering.”
Kirkland Signature
Chicken Stock is a great
base for soup, or can be
used as a substitute for
water in many recipes ( 1
cup of stock for 1 cup of
water) to add extra fla-
vor and depth. Or try
the tortellini soup recipe
that’s on the package.
SEPTEMBER 2010 ;e Costco Connection 63
These chips are up
One popular line of Kirkland Signature
products is snack food, and that includes a
staple in my home: chips. Costco offers a full
lineup: Kirkland Signature Tortilla Strips (
co-branded with Mission or Abuelita, depending
on where you live), Kirkland Signature
Organic Tortilla Chips and Kirkland Signature
by Kettle Sea Salt Potato Chips.
John Lee, a Costco food buyer, says all
these products are made with high-quality
ingredients and Costco works closely with
the manufacturers to create just the right
chip size and flavor. Also, the products are
constantly evaluated for improvements. For
example, sea salt has replaced standard salt in
the potato chip.
The savings are tremendous. On a price-per-ounce basis, Kirkland Signature by Kettle
Sea Salt Potato Chips are a 56 percent better
value than similar chips sold at retail. C
