Who Makes Costco's Kirkland Signature Nut Bars?

Costco's Kirkland brand nut bars are firmly established as one of the warehouse store's signature products. The chocolate-dipped treats are widely praised as a cheap and tasty KIND bar dupe, which may lead customers to wonder who really makes the superlative Kirkland Signature snack. Costco can be cagey about revealing the companies behind Kirkland products, but in this case, the answer is refreshingly clear-cut: Costco's private label nut bars are supplied by Leclerc Foods USA, the American branch of the Canadian company Leclerc Group.

Leclerc Group started as a cookie company in Quebec in 1905. It added snack bars to its repertoire in the late 20th century and began producing private label products for U.S. chains. Leclerc Foods USA opened its first stateside production facility in the 2000s, and the company currently operates three U.S. production facilities, one in Pennsylvania and two in Tennessee. Private label production makes up the bulk of the Leclerc Foods USA's business, but it's also known for Celebration cookies, buttery rectangular wafers topped with chocolate and stamped with an image of the Château Frontenac, an iconic Quebec City hotel. (These cookies also play a starring role in a Costco ice cream sandwich you'll wish was sold in the United States.)

Leclerc Foods USA has produced Costco's Kirkland Signature nut bars since they first hit shelves in 2017, and the convenient snacks have remained consistent for nearly a decade. The nut bars are made with almonds, cashews, and pecans, mixed with honey, rice syrup, and crispy rice, and topped with a cocoa drizzle and a sprinkle of sea salt. Each 1.41-ounce bar packs five grams of protein and an impressive eight grams of fiber.

Costco's Kirkland Signature nut bars are widely considered a dupe for KIND Dark Chocolate Nuts & Sea Salt bars (one of the best KIND bars in our ranking). Nutritionally, the two snacks are quite similar. The KIND bars contain chicory root fiber and a slightly different mix of nuts, but the protein, fiber, and sugar content are nearly identical. However, the Kirkland bars are significantly cheaper: At the time of writing, the KIND nut bars sell for roughly $0.95 each at Costco, compared to less than $0.60 a pop for the Kirkland version. In other words, the brand-name bars cost over 50% more. 

Price aside, many reviewers prefer the flavor of the Kirkland Signature nut bars. One Reddit user gushed that the Costco snacks are "Soooo goooood ... better than Kind, and much cheaper!" Another user wrote, "My household likes these more than Kind! Simple and fairly low in sugar." Whether you're looking for a budget-friendly KIND bar substitute or simply seeking a tasty and filling snack, Kirkland Signature nut bars are a Costco staple worth trying.