Who makes Kirkland Signature Solid White Albacore Tuna in Water, 7 oz, 8-count?
As of July 13, 2026, the manufacturer of Kirkland Signature Solid White Albacore Tuna in Water, 7 oz, 8-count is Bumble Bee Foods (owned by FCF Co., Ltd. since 2020), per on-label, first-party, or executive statement evidence.
The common claim
What most answers say — and what the evidence supports
Top answers correctly name Bumble Bee — nearly all of them tracing to a single 2003 Money magazine interview with Costco foods chief Tim Rose — but most miss what happened since: Bumble Bee went through Chapter 11 in November 2019 and has been owned by Taiwan's FCF Co., Ltd. since January 2020, and a 2022 federal class action over the can's dolphin-safe labeling documents the supply relationship continuing. The contract itself is also on the public record, which no top answer cites: Bumble Bee's 2010 SEC filings list the 'Costco Wholesale Private Label Agreement' and Costco's license of the KIRKLAND SIGNATURE marks to Bumble Bee, both dated May 13, 2003. The frequent claim that the Kirkland can is 'exactly the same product' as Bumble Bee's own is also unsourced — the original 2003 article describes the Kirkland can as a higher grade ('superior quality') than Bumble Bee's 'premium' line.
Evidence & sources
Every source is graded on the six-tier rubric and archived, so the citation holds even if the original moves or paywalls. The tier badge grades the source; the status grades our confidence in the maker.
Tier 4
The original, verifiable anchor every listicle traces back to: 'One is "superior quality" tuna manufactured by Bumble Bee but labeled as a Kirkland product.' Costco foods chief Tim Rose describes striking the deal with Bumble Bee, a year of tests in a Puerto Rico plant, and the April 2002 launch; later restated plainly as '(Kirkland, made by Bumble Bee).'
Tier 4
The contractual paperwork behind the relationship the 2003 Money interview described, in Bumble Bee's own SEC-filed disclosure schedules: the material-contracts list includes 'Costco Wholesale Private Label Agreement: Dual Brand United States 2001 dated as of May 13, 2003, between Costco Wholesale Corporation and Bumble Bee Foods, LLC,' and the trademark-license table shows Costco Wholesale Corporation as licensor to Bumble Bee Foods, LLC of 'License to use the Trademarks: KIRKLAND SIGNATURE logo, KIRKLAND SIGNATURE guarantee,' dated May 13, 2003. Party's own regulator-filed disclosure — graded tier 4 under the party-statement rule (DECISIONS 2026-07-05). The same schedules list a June 2003 tuna-supply agreement with FCF Fishery Co. Ltd. — the Taiwanese company that later bought Bumble Bee out of Chapter 11 in 2020.
Tier 4
Court-record class, graded tier 4 per the adjudication rule (party allegations, not findings — DECISIONS 2026-07-05). Federal court record confirming the relationship is current: the Wright complaint (filed 2022-07-27; docket verified via CourtListener) states Costco 'in 2002 contracted with Bumble Bee Foods to supply and manufacture the Kirkland Signature tuna at issue' and quotes: 'Defendant contracted with and continues to employ Bumble Bee as its supplier for its canned tuna products.' Caveats: these are plaintiff allegations, not judicial findings — though the court denied Costco's motion to dismiss on 2023-01-17 (Orrick, J.) without disturbing the supplier premise. Complaint PDF also archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20230324091859/https://www.classaction.org/media/wright-v-costco-wholesale-corporation.pdf (load-bearing quotes verified against this article's archived text).
Tier 6
Recency corroboration alongside the tier 1/4 anchors (batteries pattern): 2025 reporting still names Bumble Bee as the Kirkland supplier and documents the post-2019 context (Chapter 11, acquisition by a Taiwanese conglomerate in 2020, the Wright dolphin-safe suit). Adds no independent evidence; included to show no sign of a supplier change.
Frequently asked
Who makes Kirkland Signature albacore tuna?
Is Kirkland albacore the same as Bumble Bee brand tuna?
Was Kirkland tuna part of the canned tuna price-fixing scandal?
Who owns Bumble Bee now?
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