7 Kirkland Signature Foods And Drinks Costco Shoppers Avoid Buying

Costco's Kirkland Signature label, launched in 1995, is quite the success story. Its market positioning aims to offer value and accessibility to Costco shoppers, making it an affordable house brand that covers practically every product category. Today, it's worth a staggering $86 billion. This is likely no surprise to regular customers who've seen the chaos of a packed Costco on a Saturday. Or, if you're new to Costco, there are some staples you should explore, but do avoid the store on weekends if you can! Shopping carts teeming with bulk packs of Kirkland Signature sundries, zigzagging around the warehouse, bring joy to many shoppers. Though sometimes the brand misses the mark. 

From yucky, watery soups to chalky protein bars, Kirkland Signature doesn't always knock it out of the park. Sure, a Costco run to replenish the cupboards with snacks is a joyous occasion, but no one likes spending $30 on frozen pizzas that are practically inedible. Do some digging online, and you'll see you're not alone. Reddit threads full of regret, with cautionary tales from the warehouse aisles, abound. Certain Kirkland items keep popping up in "never again" conversations. Sometimes it's a textural thing. Sometimes it's flavor, or lack thereof. Other times it's just that the name-brand version — sitting right next to it — is better. We scoured online feedback from Costco customers to compile this list of seven Kirkland Signature foods shoppers say they skip and why.

It seems like all you hear about these days, when it comes to nutrition, is protein. So many health and wellness influencers and doctors with YouTube channels love to talk about increasing dietary protein intake. And while the concern is legit from some individuals who might be deficient, many consumers are jumping onto the trend simply because the market offers so many protein-forward products. The most obvious would be the much-loved protein bar. Ultra-convenient, filling, dependable, these on-the-go snacks can almost act like a meal, or a substantial bridge between lunch and dinner. Sadly, Kirkland Signature protein bars fall short.

While they do have a decent amount of protein with 21 grams total and come in flavors like brownie and chocolate chip cookie dough, customers often complain about them. One recent review on the Costco website states, "very dry and very chalky," with another describing the bar as a "brick." On the Costco subreddit, one member posted that a Kirkland Signature protein bar actually chipped their tooth. Beyond the off-putting texture and dental bills, many shoppers complain about consistency issues, where certain flavors present differently from box to box. Some have even gone so far as to posit that the cookies & cream version of the bars is inedible, while the peanut butter flavor is passable. Either way, probably avoid these protein bars.

Cold brew has skyrocketed in popularity in recent years. It's easy to make, easy to find at most cafes and grocery stores, and will certainly get you caffeinated. Many coffee drinkers praise it for being smooth, thanks to the forgiving brew method that mitigates bitterness, provided you steep it correctly. It's usually low-acid and goes down easy, with canned cold brew's convenience beating out messy homebrewing. One would hope that Kirkland Signature's cold brew coffee would be rich in caramel-y flavor, with a smooth profile and a deep chocolate undertone. Unfortunately, this isn't the case. In recent online reviews, the coffee has been slammed by Costco shoppers. On a Reddit thread, one person posted a comment that reads, "I drink a lot of cold brew and Costco's is the worst I've ever had."

Messing up cold brew can be pretty hard to do — as we've stated, it's a very forgiving brew method with a wide margin for error on either end. So, if Kirkland can't get it right, it's all the worse for the brand — especially considering that every grocery store sells dozens of alternatives. Other people on the Costco subreddit complained that this cold brew had a bitter taste, remedied only with a bit of milk. If you're not convinced, a few more brutal comments read "Tastes like dirty water," and "This was the most awful coffee product I've ever tried." Definitely skip Kirkland Signature Cold Brew Coffee.

Spiced rum isn't for everyone, and you could argue that all of the flavorings and additives act as a Band-Aid, masking inferior rum. While you probably won't find a bottle of spiced rum on a purist's home bar, these spirits have their place and can be quite tasty when made well. If you're a fan of spiced rums and shop at Costco, you've probably come across Kirkland Signature's version. The wholesale warehouse titan sells a ton of booze, with an impressive curation covering all the bases. Before your next Costco visit to stock up your own bar, there are some insider tips you should know. But what you may already know is that its spiced rum is abhorrent and should be avoided. 

Why? Well, if you parse the online reviews, you'll begin to find a mountain of evidence that this spirit tastes pretty bad. A recent in-depth review on the r/rum subreddit gave Kirkland Signature spiced rum a 2 out of 10 overall score, with the taste described as having "a bitter, medicinal quality to it." The reviewer went on to describe the spirit's aromas as smelling "very strongly of vanilla, followed by a rubbery smell, like the smell of a worn-out rubber band." This type of over-the-top, cloying vanilla flavor is likely added in an effort to hide the underlying low-quality rum. Worse still is the fact that it apparently even tastes poorly with Pepsi. Avoid this and save your money.

For quick weeknight dinners, or even long braises on a slow Sunday, jarred marinara sauce is a lifesaver. In theory, it's a no-brainer pantry staple: affordable, there for you during the winter when fresh tomatoes suck, and essential to so many Italian dishes we love. If you've ever perused the canned section of your local Costco, you may have contemplated a multipack of marinara sauce in advance of that lasagna you've planned. There are usually a few different brand names to choose from, in addition to Kirkland Signature. For most families and couples, and even single-dwellers who love to cook, a three-pack of 860ml marinara sauce isn't the biggest commitment, especially considering how big some of the store's other bulk products are. 

But one would hope that for $25, you're going to get a quality product enabling you to make tasty pastas or zippy chilis. Not the case here. Kirkland Signature Organic Marinara Sauce left a sour taste in many Costco shoppers' mouths. One recent review on the store's website reads, "It tasted like watered-down pasta sauce," while a Redditor posted, "The Kirkland brand is very bland and watery for my taste," in the Costco sub. Pretty damning reviews for what sounds like, on paper, a great product, as it's organic and made with California vine-ripened tomatoes. We say avoid it. And if you're looking for a better marinara, there are better store-bought options available.

Carnivore home cooks love chicken breasts for good reason. They're versatile, from sandwich meat to the star protein in curries to marinated strips for BBQs; the possibilities are almost endless. Frozen ones make life even easier, letting you pull out a few breasts on a whim as you plan a quick dinner. But few grocery blunders are more frustrating than taking the time to cook a nice dinner, only to find something's off. Good texture is non-negotiable when it comes to enjoying meat. This is the core complaint some Costco shoppers raise about Kirkland Signature frozen chicken breasts. People online frequently mention a "woody" or stringy texture, which is rather off-putting to say the least. What this means is that the chicken muscle fibers cook up tough and oddly firm. If you're looking for tender, juicy chicken breast meat, you might want to look elsewhere.

They've already been in the crosshairs on Reddit many times before, with others describing dryness — even when carefully cooked — as another red flag. One person in the Costco subreddit described these stringy Kirkland Signature chicken breasts as "spaghetti chicken" in a thread from last year. However, the problem isn't universal, as plenty of members continue buying them without issue. But shoppers who've encountered rubbery or fibrous batches remember it and avoid repeat purchases, lest they risk ruining another meal. We can't blame them. It might be better to buy fresh chicken from a butcher or your local grocer, if you can.

For those who go through a ton of coffee, Costco's massive coffee aisle is a great place to re-up when supplies are low. It offers a wide range of roasters and roast profiles, and as ever, the Kirkland Signature brand is in the mix. If you're a bit of a coffee geek, seeing the words "single origin" printed on a bag of big-box store coffee will likely pique your interest, especially Ethiopian beans. They're often associated with bright, floral, and fruit-forward notes that may be divisive to a Dunkin' fan, but it's the type of profile your local third-wave cafe barista lives for. Sadly, these beans are nothing to write home about, and some customers online felt they got a raw deal after buying a bag. 

This stings even more when you consider that it's only sold in two-pound packages, priced at $49. That much coffee could take a few weeks to go through, which means you might not enjoy your morning java for half the month. Roasting coffee is quite difficult, and even the best roasters in the world can struggle to keep things consistent from batch to batch. But with Redditors claiming that the coffee tastes grassy and bitter, and even smells stale when freshly opened, you'd be wise to reconsider this Kirkland release.

Sure, frozen pizza isn't quite the same as a fresh pie from your local pizzeria, but it does scratch that itch when the craving hits. Frozen food aisles at most grocery stores offer a wide array of pizza options, from gluten-free crusts to deep-dish and even vegan pies. But when shoppers want to save some coin, many turn to Costco for deals. Its Kirkland Signature brand has a ton of great frozen products, but unfortunately, the pepperoni pizza is not one of them. Some Costco fans have criticized this pizza, with some pretty harsh characterizations like "terrible."

On the Costco subreddit, in a recent thread, one poster wanted to get to the bottom of the issue, to find out what others thought of these pies. They wrote in the post, "Probably the worst frozen pizza I've ever had and that's a real low bar," and later returned the pizzas for a refund because they were so bad. Others chimed in to back up the original poster, claiming the crust is subpar, with one person commenting that it took them a full year to finish a box. A few Costco shoppers who took these lackluster pies home tried to remedy things by adding their own toppings — but this seems to defeat the purpose of a frozen pizza. With so many other great frozen pizza options out there, it would be a good idea to skip these.

To make this list, which relies on feedback from Costco shoppers, we built a strong consensus. We only used reviews that were a year old or newer to account for any changes in product quality. This way, we know our intel is the most accurate reflection of a current product in the marketplace. 

The dismissal of a product was considered via multiple comments across multiple threads, combined with user-based reviews from the Costco website itself. Naturally, there were some debates and discrepancies, but numbers rarely lie. If dozens, if not hundreds of people think a certain product misses the mark, chances are high that it does. If a shopper takes the time to complain about wasting $40 on a Kirkland Signature product, and their complaint gets substantially upvoted, we think it is worth investigating to help others avoid the same pitfalls.