A Trader Joe’s shopper who eats its protein pancakes every morning spotted a ‘limit one per person’ sign, and her complaint backfired with shoppers

A TikTok user who goes by @savplansparties says a purchase limit on Trader Joe’s protein pancakes has complicated her breakfast routine, according to BroBible. She posted a photo of the sign, which reads “LIMIT ONE PER PERSON,” and said she eats the pancakes for breakfast. The pancakes are a premade item that Trader Joe’s sells in single packs.

In the caption, the shopper joked that she will have to go back to Trader Joe’s every day if she wants to keep having the pancakes for breakfast, and she added that “we have lost the plot.” A limit of one per person means each shopper can leave with a single pack, so a household that wants more would need more shoppers or another trip.

Trader Joe’s has not publicly responded to the post, based on reports so far. The company has used purchase limits before, including a cap of one dozen eggs per customer per day during an egg shortage, according to a company spokesperson. Stores often set limits on popular items to spread stock across more shoppers. The sign in the photo, however, does not say why this limit exists.

The shopper says a daily trip would be the only way to keep eating the pancakes

The Trader Joe’s protein pancakes are a ready to heat breakfast product, and the packaging lists 20 grams of protein per serving. Product coverage describes a short ingredient list that includes cottage cheese, egg whites, whole eggs, oat flour, milk and cane sugar, which is part of why the item has built a following among shoppers who want a quick protein heavy breakfast.

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Price coverage from the product’s launch listed a single pack at $3.79, which means a shopper buying one pack every day would spend about $26.50 per week. That math shows what the limit would mean for someone who, like this TikTok user, says she eats the Trader Joe’s protein pancakes every morning and cannot buy a larger supply in one visit.

Shoppers on Reddit have said that local stores sell out of the protein pancakes quickly, and some have described stocking up when the product is available. Those posts, however, are individual accounts from different stores, so they do not show how widely the limit is applied or how long the sign has been up at the shopper’s location.

Other Trader Joe’s items have carried limits as well. Earlier coverage of a returning ube pancake mix said the store capped it at two per person, though the figure can vary by store. The egg limit, by contrast, was tied to ongoing supply issues, which the company cited when it explained why customers were restricted to one dozen.

The sign is not the first Trader Joe’s moment to spread among shoppers, as a woman who compared Starbucks and Trader Joe’s pumpkin pies found a nearly identical four pack at the grocer for about $5. The pancake limit follows a similar pattern of a shopper sharing a store moment online.

Whether the protein pancakes are limited because of strong demand or supply problems has not been confirmed, and the sign in the photo does not give a reason. Purchase limits at Trader Joe’s can differ from store to store, so a shopper in another city may see a different cap or no cap at all on the same product.

It remains unclear whether Trader Joe’s will lift the limit on the protein pancakes or keep it in place, and the company has not said how long the sign is expected to stay up.

Attack of the Fanboy was unable to independently verify Trader Joe’s side of the story, as this account originates solely from @savplansparties’ TikTok post.