Have You Noticed this Item at Costco Has Been Replaced?

If you are a regular shopper of Costco, you will find that now and again they will move certain items to other parts of the store.  This may bring you to the notion that they may have removed the item, until you eventually find it in another spot.  They do this so that shoppers of regular items will hopefully move around the store more and discover new things.

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That may have been the case with their latest item going missing.  Only this time, it's no where else in the store.  It's gone and has been replaced.

I'm talking about the Kirkland chocolate chips.  They have been replaced with Nestle toll house chocolate chips.  And customers are not thrilled with this change.

Here's the thing... the Kirkland brand, which is Costco's signature brand, is dairy free, coconut free, and apparently kosher.  And quite honestly, people think they taste better than the Nestle brand.  Plus, it's odd that Costco would choose a commerical brand over their own brand.

The offical explanation given for the change from Costco is this:

According to Costco officials, the decision comes in light of the recently “rising costs of cocoa” across the globe. Compared to last year, cocoa costs have risen nearly 200-percent. In terms of price, Nestle Chocolate Chips will retail for $12.79 for a 72-ounce bag while Kirkland Signature Chocolate Chips usually cost about $1.50 more.

They do add that if the price of cocoa comes down, they do plan to replace the Kirkland chocolate chips again.  So, they are not necessarily gone for good, but for sure gone for now.