In an April video posted by TikTok user @erica_grace1, a frenzy has ensued at a Trader Joe’s store. A group of customers, mainly grown adults, is seen crowding around a cardboard box filled with the brand’s newly-released pastel mini tote bags. One could call it greed, based on how people are wrestling one another to grab not one, not two, but multiple bags in various colors. It’s like watching hands frantically reach out for candy after a piñata has been broken into — gluttony at its finest.
“I did not think I was going to fight grown women at 8:00 AM,” read a caption on the TikTok video.
@erica_grace1 Trader Joe’s mini pastel tote bags!! #traderjoes #pasteltotebags #traderjoesminitotebag #traderjoesminitotebag ♬ original sound - ✿
The brouhaha, though ludicrous, isn’t anything unfamiliar. Last February, TJ’s consumers and enthusiasts alike went gaga after the California-based retailer first dropped its 11-by-13-inch canvas totes. The bags — available for just $2.99 each — were simple in design, emblazoned with TJ’s trademark emblem and bearing red, navy, yellow or green colored straps. Like clockwork, they became the hottest “it” item across the Internet. Videos on social media showed swarms of consumers barging into stores, frantically grabbing as many bags as possible. “These mfs wildin over a mini tote bag,” captioned one TikTok in which TJ’s staff are seen wheeling out a tote-filled cart into an eager crowd. In some stores, the craze grew uncontrollable, forcing staff members to limit how many bags consumers could purchase. “Five! That’s the limit! Five!” yelled an employee in a separate video.
The bags eventually sold out in a matter of days, compelling shoppers to resell them for $300 and $500, even $1,000 for a set of all four colors. At the time, TJ’s assured consumers that the bags would be back in stock by late summer. “We had actually hundreds of thousands of bags come in and go out within a week,” Matt Sloan, host of the “Insider Trader Joe’s” podcast, said in an episode released March 2024. “We had no inkling that they would be this exciting, this quickly, for so many customers.”
TJ’s relaunched its elusive bags in September, once again for a limited time only. Since then, the craze has only intensified, leading TJ’s to bring in even more bags this April. “Last year, when we introduced our Mini Canvas Totes, we were so pleasantly surprised by their rapturous reception that we’re bringing in even more Mini Totes, this time in a series of Pastel shades to herald the beginning of spring,” the brand wrote on its website. For a limited only, consumers could get their hands on mini totes in four brand new shades: delicate pink, baby blue, mint green and lovely lavender.
A similar scramble quickly ensued. The New York Times reported that some people camped out in front of stores hours before they opened — an employee at a Trader Joe’s in Sacramento told the outlet that the first customer lined up at 5 A.M. (the bags ultimately sold out within 15 minutes). In preparation for the chaos, stores across Brooklyn and Manhattan amped up their security, with some placing the bags behind registers. Nearly all stores nationwide imposed limits on the number of bags per customer, although they varied by location. Still, some consumers went home with multiple bags and, in one instance, a cart filled to the brim, per a video on TikTok.
@justlifewithleah_ #stitch with @angela… these resellers with their Trader Joe’s tote bags are going to SEND ME OVER THE EDGE #traderjoes #traderjoestotebag #overconsumptionculture #consumerism ♬ original sound - Leah 💸 No Buy/Low Buy Year 💸
@hakantuluhanofficial People Are Going Crazy Over Trader Joe’s Totes 🤦♂️#traderjoes #usa #foryoupage #fyp #wtf #trending #viralvideo #breakingnews ♬ original sound - Sonya Gore
Do people really need hoards of mini totes? “YOU. DO. NOT. NEED. 4. OF. THE. SAME. TOTE. BAG.” wrote Reddit user u/pickles_are_gross_ in a thread posted on the anti-consumption subreddit. “[I] am genuinely so frustrated by the trader joe's tote bag situation. it's so much waste and so shameful to watch members of my same species freak out over some canvas bags, and then buy 10 of them.”
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The craze is a peak example of mass consumerism that’s fueled and intensified by social media. We’ve seen this before with the Stanley cup and Hydro Flask crazes, in which a rather mundane item becomes all the rage amongst consumers and, more infamously, resellers. In the case of the mini totes, several micro economies have stemmed from the humble product. Within the broader group of consumers are sub groups of individuals looking to profit off of the bags in different ways. There are social media influencers acquiring the bags to make content and garner clicks. There are resellers, many of whom have been selling the pastel bags for hundreds, even thousands, of dollars (one eBay seller is currently selling a bundle of four “limited edition” mint green totes for $9,999.95). And there are artists, who are upcharging bags adorned with mini doodles.
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NYC-based artist and influencer Gabriela Vasci received backlash for a version of her hand-painted TJ’s bags, which she priced at a whopping $1,500. In an interview with People, Vasci explained that the high price tag was because the bag, decorated with illustrations of olives and martini glasses, had been turned into a framed art piece.
@gab_nyc Replying to @alexandria one of my favorite totes i’ve painted 🫒 #traderjoes #painting #artistsoftiktok ♬ This song - SULU
“The art piece of that exact tote that's in the video that someone reached out to me asking to buy is the $1,500 framed art piece,” she said. “And I did tell her, that price does reflect the current demand of the totes online, the market, supply and demand, It's not necessarily a stagnant price.”
Vasci added that she paints custom tote bags on commission. Her standard price ranges between $250 to $500, per People.
“There's always going to be someone that says ‘That's not worth it. I wouldn't pay that.’ But at the same time, there's always going to be someone out there that does love your work and does see the value in it and will pay that number,” Vasci told the outlet. “I just think you can't make everyone happy, and that's why you should just kind of price your work as you see fit.”
Unlike TJ’s larger, reusable shopping bags, its mini totes are more so revered for being a hot commodity rather than a functional grocery bag. For many, they’re merely a prized possession and collectible. The totes also promote a sense of exclusivity. There’s a sort of “cool factor” associated with possessing the totes, especially in the wake of their third release.
It seems probable that TJ’s will continue releasing more totes. As for how long the craze will persevere, it’s hard to say. Even amid the brand’s union-busting efforts, lack of employee protection and recent recall of products, their tote bags remain high in demand.
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