Customers wait in line for mini tote bags at a Trader Joe's in Oro Valley, Arizona, on Thursday, April 10, 2025.
A tote bag phenomenon has hit shoppers of a popular organic grocery store.
Dozens of people waited outside the Oro Valley Trader Joe’s location before the store opened in the early morning of Thursday, April 10.
The Black Friday behavior was sparked over mini versions of the grocery chain’s reusable canvas tote bags recently in four new Easter-themed pastels.
The first release of the mini tote bags sold out in a matter of hours in the summer of 2024, and some shoppers like Deanna Foote said they were even taking orders of the fresh colors for other family members.
“My daughter just texted me yesterday and said can you see if you can find some of these totes at your Trader Joe’s cuz I can’t, mine are all gone, she said people are buying them and then reselling them, a set of four for 125 dollars,” Foote said.
Andrea Rodriguez said she thinks the price of $2.99 is fueling the popularity.
“I also think it’s the hype,” she said.
VIEW LARGER Mini tote bags on display at the Oro Valley Trader Joe's location on Thursday, April 10, 2025.
Social media posts showing off the new tote bags had as many as 860,000 views a day after the bags’ release.
The grocery chain set a limit of one of each of the four colors for customers, to limit reselling.
Nakia Rohde, spokesperson for Trader Joe’s, was unavailable for interviews about the tote bag demand, but said the company promotes “exceptional products that will find a following among our customers.”
“We believe that customers “vote” on what they love - and what they want to see more of - with their dollars,” she said.
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