Shoppers are waking up before sunrise to score the $3 mini grocery bags, which have become a global status symbolA Friday morning on a public holiday usually means sleeping in. Instead, I was standing outside my local Trader Joe’s before 7am, staring at a line of shoppers that seemed to
Liz Lindain in Santa Clarita, California
A Friday morning on a public holiday usually means sleeping in. Instead, I was standing outside my local Trader Joe’s before 7am, staring at a line of shoppers that seemed to stretch for miles.
The grocery store in Santa Clarita, just north of Los Angeles, wouldn’t open for another hour. But hundreds of people were already waiting for the same thing: Trader Joe’s new striped pastel mini canvas totes, a $2.99 reusable bag that has inspired a frenzy more typically associated with sneaker releases or concert presale tickets.
The phenomenon didn’t appear overnight. Known for its affordable prices and carefully curated selection of seasonal snacks and private-label products, Trader Joe’s has cultivated a fiercely loyal fanbase. Its canvas tote bags, in particular, have become a global obsession, with consumers from around the world eager to get their hands on one. Some resellers are selling the bags at 10 or even hundreds of times more their original price.
Retail psychologist Paco Underhill, founder of consulting company Envirosell, says this isn’t surprising because Trader Joe’s has been able to build an unusually loyal customer base that extends beyond the grocery store itself.
That loyalty has helped transform the chain’s signature canvas totes into an international status symbol. “It’s one thing to walk the streets of New York with a Trader Joe’s bag,” Underhill said. “It’s another to walk the streets of Myeongdong in Seoul … that’s testament to the fact that brand identity is permeating the globe.”
Trader Joe’s original canvas bags were first introduced in 1977, but the mini totes that went viral on TikTok dropped in 2024. The grocery chain has been releasing new patterns seasonally or as limited-edition drops since, yet they still see hundreds of customers lining up each time.
As an avid Trader Joe’s tote bag user, I went to see the phenomenon for myself – and to find who, exactly, would spend the first hours of a holiday weekend waiting outside a grocery store.
The answer, I quickly learned, wasn’t what I’d expected.
As I stood there half awake, making my way towards the end of the line, I noticed that most people wore comfortable clothes; many held cups of coffee while others were wrapped in fuzzy blankets and sat on camping chairs they brought for the wait. A handful of shoppers passed the time scrolling on their phones, while others struck up conversations with strangers over their shared mission.
Many parents brought their younger children, who darted energetically along the sidewalk. Despite the growing crowd, there was little sense of impatience. People generally stayed put, though some families took turns sitting in nearby parked cars while another person held their place in line.
I’d anticipated meeting collectors, resellers or huge Trader Joe’s fans; instead, the several shoppers I spoke with all had someone else in mind: a partner, a friend, a co-worker, a relative overseas.
This is Rick Larimore’s third day in a row lining up for the new striped tote bags. He has been coming every morning since the new striped design dropped on 17 June, mostly for his wife, Kin, who wants to give the bags to her co-workers and niece as gifts.
Though they have collected 28 striped totes and have waited in line for other Trader Joe’s merchandise over the past few months, the Larimores have expressed little interest in keeping all of these bags for themselves.
“You know, I really don’t care for them,” Kin said. “I just got involved with this craze because I enjoy getting it for people that like them and want them. I like to be able to offer it, so it’s more doing it for others.”
It’s the same for Cecilia, a retired payroll technician who lives about 10 minutes away from the store. Her daughter-in-law, who raises two kids and works as an assistant for a local eye doctor, is traveling to China this summer. Cecilia, who preferred not to share her last name, waited in line for her daughter-in-law so she could send the totes as gifts for family.
“I was so surprised so many people love it. I don’t even know why they [line up],” Cecilia said. Though she is a regular shopper at Trader Joe’s, this was her first time trying to score the canvas tote bag. She arrived at about 6.55am. “I wish I came earlier.”
Twenty minutes before 8am, employees started distributing numbered tickets to the first 250 shoppers, allowing each person to purchase up to four bags. Rather than a chaotic rush with pushing and shoving, the line was very organized and moved surprisingly quickly. One by one, ticket holders entered the store and made their way to the back, where employees were handing out a bundle of bags to each person.
Leaving home before the sun comes up and waiting in the cold for a $3 tote bag might seem extreme, but for people like Cecilia, it’s a labor of love.
“I do it for my daughter-in-law,” Cecilia says. “Everything is for her.”
