Costco Just Side-Eyed Trader Joe’s With These New Tote Bags

At this point, it’s hard to understate the cultural significance of the Trader Joe’s tote bag. When a new tote is released now, it is total pandemonium. The in-store exclusive purchase of these tote bags has people lining up for blocks, not just around the corner. Entire streets are taken over by cues of people in anticipation of the next drop of Trader Joe’s tote bag, and their exclusivity only has people waiting more eagerly.

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And since Trader Joe’s is a store exclusively located within the United States, it’s made these totes internationally coveted as a status symbol. When I, a humble Floridian, was living in London, people would literally stop me in the street inquiring how I was able to source the bag… until they heard my accent. All this to say, in trying to offer a cute and sustainable option for their customers to carry home their groceries in, Trader Joe’s has created an entire culture around the bags that grocery stores have to offer. Reusable grocery bags have been around for quite some time, but now they’re more “in” than ever. At long last, other grocery stores are finally starting to pick up on it. 

Our First Contender

While it’s likely that no one will really be able to re-create the pandemonium around that surrounds Trader Joe’s tote bags, Costco’s throwing their hat into the ring now to give it a shot. But here’s the thing, it actually makes perfect sense for Costco to release their version of reusable canvas tote bags that Trader Joe’s has. While they are, admittedly, not as cute as their rival’s due to the inherent aesthetic qualities of the Costco logo and branding comparatively, they are a more reasonable purchase in Costco since they don’t bag your groceries.

Unless you come in with a box or grocery bags of your own, you’re leaving Costco with loose groceries. Since Costco sells wholesale goods, that makes sense. But for shoppers who are used to bagged groceries the concept does seem a bit off. Now, Costco does already sell for reusable grocery bags that you can buy at check out, but they are plastic-y and generally just not very attractive. That all changes today though.

The Costco version of the Trader Joe’s canvas tote bags utilizes the Costco logo in place of the Trader Joe’s one and doesn’t have any of the border colors that have become so iconic. And no, they haven’t yet been developed into seasonal and colorful varieties. They are that same “boat tote” style, though, and offer a good alternative for Costco shoppers or anyone who doesn’t live close to a Trader Joe’s.