The Company Behind Costco's Kirkland Brand Nut Bars

Costco's Kirkland Signature private label brand is one of the warehouse chain's selling points for its fans, offering products that can be as good as those made by big-name companies, but at a cheaper price (there are a couple ways for non-members to try them, too). Costco contracts many different manufacturers to make these products, like the companies behind Kirkland Signature chocolate-covered almonds and Kirkland vanilla ice cream. And when Costco set out to make a Kirkland version of chocolate and nut bars in 2016, it turned to a family-owned company.

Kingsport, Tennessee-based Leclerc Foods USA manufactures the Kirkland Signature Nut Bars with Cocoa Drizzle & Sea Salt. The company is part of Leclerc Group, a 120-year-old manufacturing business headquartered in Quebec, Canada that makes cookies, crackers, and snack bars. Three of its eight plants are located in Tennessee and Pennsylvania (the other five are in Canada), and its products are distributed in more than 30 countries.

The company got its start in 1905 when Francois Leclerc began selling cookies out of his Quebec City home, using his wife's jelly cookie recipe. Five generations of the Leclerc family have grown and expanded the business since then. The manufacturer sold only cookies until the 1980s, when it began successfully moving into other products, and it started private label partnerships with food chains in the U.S. in the '90s. Today, private label products like the Kirkland nut bars are a central part of Leclerc's business.

How do Costco's nut bars compare to similar products? Kirkland's snacks include almonds, cashews, and pecans, with a cocoa drizzle and sea salt. Kind's similar Dark Chocolate Nuts & Sea Salt bar also contains almonds, but has peanuts instead of the more expensive cashews and pecans. Kind also uses unsweetened chocolate, while Kirkland's gets its dark chocolate flavor from cocoa powder. However, Costco leaves its competitor in the dust on price, at least within its own warehouses. A 30-package of Kirkland bars is $17.99, or about 60 cents each. Costco sells Kind bars in a variety pack with eight fewer bars, which costs $23.99, leading to a significantly higher $1.09 per bar.

Other grocery stores also have their own similar, house-brand products. Target's Good & Gather brand sells an Almond, Peanuts & Sea Salt with Cocoa Drizzle bar, with additional walnuts and a cocoa powder drizzle. A box of 12 is $10.99 (about 92 cents each). Walmart's Great Value Dark Chocolatey Nuts & Sea Salt Nut Bar is made with almonds and peanuts, and also uses cocoa powder for chocolate flavor. They're sold at six bars for $4.98 online (83 cents per bar). 

In addition to having a superior price, Kirkland's nut bar has gotten a lot of love online. One reviewer on Costco's website described it as "Not overly sweet – just right!!!," and added, "the nut combo is delightful." Another fan praised them as "not only flavorful but satisfying as well." And one Redditor believes Kirkland's product clearly outshines Kind's bar, saying "They just taste better, full stop."