Every Costco Shopper Needs One of These

We love novelty food products. There, we admit it! And honestly, if you don’t, then I’m not sure that we can be friends. Any opportunity to make the food we’re eating a little bit more fun (and easy to manage) is a winner in our book, and sometimes all it takes is a piece of plastic that doubles as a food holder to put a smile on our faces. 

That’s exactly what we received with our latest find, courtesy of @super_smash_tv, a product designer over on Instagram. Introducing The Buck Fifty: A Costco hot dog and drink holder, rolled into one nifty little package. 

The Buck Fifty Takes the Stress Out of Balancing Your Food Court Finds

SuperSmashTV’s idea is so canny that we’re surprised that Costco hasn’t tried it itself. The Buck Fifty is essentially a long, thin tray, with a cup holder on one side and space for your food court hot dog in the other. You balance your dog on the tray, replacing it between bites, and pop your drink in the holder as you buy your favorite Costco groceries. It should be said that the product isn’t affiliated with the supermarket in any way, but we’re sure they don’t mind the publicity. 

The really genius part is that SuperSmashTV’s design clips onto the front of your shopping cart easily. Then, once you’ve finished with your food, you can snap it back off, ready for the next round of shoppin’ and snackin’. We’re kinda inclined to think that The Buck Fifty (which is clearly named after the famous permanent cost of Costco’s hot dogs, even as Costco raises the price of its food court items elsewhere) doesn’t just have to be used with the food it’s designed for, either. Want to stick a chicken bake on it, or a turkey and provolone sandwich? Go for it (you might have to take a few bites out of both before you balance them, though). Fancy using the cup holder for its ice cream sundaes? Hey, the world’s your oyster. Just make sure you’re not using it for those food court menu items that didn’t quite hit the spot with us.

Costco Fans Are Clearly Ready for the Buck Fifty

Over on SuperSmashTV’s Insta account, Costco shoppers were full of nothing but praise for the viral item. “This is brilliant,” said one comment, with another asking the designer if they could make one that can carry pizza. We smell a product line coming on…

Crucially, though, The Buck Fifty is currently only available for pre-order, a fact that caused a little confusion in SuperSmashTV’s comment section. Multiple people left questions asking if there was a waitlist, or flagged that it wasn’t available. The good news is that you can put a preorder in at SuperSmashTV’s Shopify account, although there’s no indication of when it’d be back in stock. Until then, you’re just going to have to precariously balance your hot dog and drink as you stroll around like the rest of us.