Are you craving a 27-pound mac and a bucket of cheese? Costco has that
The wholesale giant stocks some bulk items that will attract the attention of many customers.
USA TODAY
Few people love Costco than Max Ellinger. The proof is engraved on his right arm. His only tattoo is the Kirkland signature logo. From rotisserie chicken to laundry detergent, it’s a Costco House brand.
Ellinger got it in 2019 after a friend convinced Costco Bakery to make a cake with the company logo saying that Ellinger, a staff member, is a huge fan. When Costco asked for a photo, Eringer slid into a tattoo parlor chair, turning the little white lie into a lasting reality.
Like many Costco members, Eringer’s dedication comes from a weekly shopping trek with his parents. Walking around the aisles of a warehouse familiar to the new city, he comforted him after he left the house. He became known around school as the man who made his college classmate a shepherd.
In his online dating profile, Eringer only had one rule. There are no members of Sam’s club. His future husband knew their relationship was serious. Not when they decide to get married, but when he became Ellinger’s plus one with his Costco membership. The recent move to Champaign, Illinois, only greenlighted their recent moves after first confirming that Costco was 12 minutes apart.
“The Kirkland signature represents quality, value, integrity and the good treatment of others, which resonates with me,” said Eringer, 33, who works at a content marketing agency. “It makes a lot more sense than most tattoos.”
Eringer isn’t the only one wearing a Costco on his sleeves.
Tom Sorakoff, 42, from Toronto, Canada, worked at Costco before starting his career in graphic design, but got a Costco $1.50 Hot Dog and Soda contract tattoo. His tattoo photo received over 23,000 likes on Instagram and 17,000 votes on Costco’s subreddit.
The rise of retail fandom
Going over Swifties, Groupies is no longer just famous people. “Superfans” have developed an unusually tough bond with brands across the country, flashing their loyalty with tattoos and other symbols of their connection.
Even celebrities are brand fans. Musician Ed Sheeran has made famous with a Heinz Ketchup bottle tattoo on his arm.
“We’ve always had fandoms, we’ve always had fandoms for brands, but they’re growing and getting stronger,” said Paul Booth, a professor of media and popular culture at DePaul University, who studies fandom.
Fandom, the geek realm of sci-fi, jumped from Star Trek practices to mainstream through the internet, giving people a place for gatherings to celebrate their collective love for something, such as video games, television shows, musical acts, sports teams and more.
About 85% of Americans have identified them as fans, according to Susan Kresnicka, a cultural anthropologist who studies fandom in the corporate sector.
Fandom has become a way to signal our identity to others and connect it with like-minded spirits, Kresnikka said.
Buc-EE, Trader Joe, Aldi Super Fan
Who we are is expressed by the places we shop and what we buy. It’s not just about megabalands like Apple using pop culture juice.
No longer a boring staple in the retail industry, grocery stores have developed a character that reflects how shoppers view themselves, what they care about and believe.
On social media, “Wawa Fam” is gathering their love, including Pennsylvania-based convenience chain known for Hoogies such as Gobbler, and Thanksgiving rolls stuffed with Hookie, gravy, stuffing and cranberry sauce.
The stubborn Aldi treasure hunters greet each other like crows in “Caw Cawing,” which involves “Aldi Finds.” This is a cheap impulse purchase choice in the aisle of a store called “Aisle of Shame” in German grocery chains.
Buc-EE followers, Texas secured convenience stores and gas stop chains are loved for their famous clean toilets, barbecued briskets and beaver statues, making it the first to pass through the doors of their new locations.
Fans of the family-owned New York chain Wegmans call themselves “Wegmaniacs.” Shortly after the supermarket chain opened its first location in Massachusetts in 2011, the local high school staged a musical about community excitement, including an in-store marriage proposal.
Trader Joe’s “Stan” has been lined up for hours to get a viral mini tote bag decorated with the grocery chain’s name and logo.
The brand’s solidarity can bridge divisions and connect people at times of increased polarization and isolation, fandom experts say.
“When someone sees your Costco T-shirt or trader Joe’s bag, people know they’re encountering the spirit of their relatives, so their eyes brighten up, and that’s on a level, you have pretty basic commonalities,” Cresnica said. “It could be the beginning of a human connection where you step into knowing each other and actually trusting each other.”
Costco cult
Even in a world where supermarkets can connect Costco fans with a passionate attitude.
They don’t shop. They have cult-like loyalty to their favorite spots. They fly to Costco several times a week, cruise the aisles and munch samples. They collect logo merchandise, monitor Tiktok’s new drops, and pretend to be pets with Kirkland’s signature hoodie. They spent hours online on everything from Costco’s ethics to churros vs churros and giant cookies in the food court.
Alyssa Munoz’s family frequently goes to Costco, she jokes that they live there. The three 34-year-old mothers from San Jose hold play dates at Costco, with their children stacked in one cart and groceries loaded into another cart. A treat after checking out? Ice cream from the food court.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, Munoz was shopping for others, so he filled his camera roll with bargains and photos of cool new items. There, she launched a Facebook group for Bay Area Costco members, where she was able to trade things and hot tips on the shelves of local stores. That’s how she found Costco people, she says. Five years later, the Facebook group has 169,000 members.
“I don’t want to say that Costco defined me,” Munoz said.
Rebecca Jen Hui Wang, an associate professor of marketing at Le Hai University, said that customers take pride in not only shopping at Costco, but also related to it.
“In many ways, Costco works like a club. It offers status and community, but instead of the inflated price, membership fees unlock trustworthy products and a consistent, positive shopping experience,” Wang said.
The secret sauce of that shopping experience is that it gives people richness with curated products, ranging from wagyu beef and Dubai chocolate to soap and toilet paper, says marketing experts.
“We’ve been working hard to get the better of our customers,” said Lauren Beitelspatcher, a marketing professor at Babson University. “Part of that comes from the idea of discovering something new.
For super fans, this combination has a powerful psychological advantage. Jasmine Pack, a 30-year-old content creator from Anaheim, California, says Costco is a way to practice self-care.
“I shop at Costco religiously,” Pack said. “I sometimes go to Costco, but sometimes I don’t even buy anything. I’m there to cheer myself up. There’s something about that Costco Air. It gives me a sense of peace.”
Claudia Chee, a 34-year-old content creator known on Instagram as “Costco Claudia,” calls the store her “safe space.” Every year she travels internationally to see Costco warehouses in other countries.
“Without Costco, I wouldn’t go,” she said. “That’s literally my standard.”
“My favourite place on Earth”
For Costco partisans, warehouse aisles aren’t just the place they shop. That’s where they celebrate a milestone in their lives.
While planning a birthday party for their two kids last year, 34-year-old Tiffany Remington said she and her husband were trying to come up with a theme that would excite them. answer? Costco.
On a weekly grocery trip, daughter Faye (4) and son Kai (2) take snacks with free samples and explore the aisles. Remington, a content creator in Portland, Oregon, created junior executive members themed cards for guests, and customized menu posters featuring kids taking photos next to chicken baking and hot dogs.
The cart offered snacks that kids could “shop” and the food offers included samples of egg rolls served on muffin liners and classic food court staples like Costco pizza.
When she dreamed of a 40th birthday party for her husband last year, Katie Staley thought about the important things in his life, family and Costco, in that order.
Adam Staley, who attacks local stores at least four days a week for samples and deals, talks about Costco as an addiction. His favorite wardrobe piece is the worn-out chili-dyed Kirkland logo hoodie. When the family recently moved, the main selling feature of the new home in Kansas City, Missouri, was close to Costco, which is less than five minutes long.
There, Katie Staley was able to send secret messages to her friends and family, and meet them at Costco and spread throughout the store to pretend to meet Adam. They all gathered in the food court with Costco pizza and sheet cakes to surprise the three fathers after check-out. The food court participated by singing “Happy Birthday.” Passing shoppers got a slice of cake.
“I wasn’t expecting that,” Adam Staley said.
Even with these standards, the dedication of Costco fans is at the next level.
After countless date nights, after wandering the Costco aisles during executive members’ opening hours and dined at pizza and hot dogs in the food court, Beth and Alec Harworth decided there was no more place in their engagement photos.
Staff accessed the couple at Overland Park, Kansas, outside of warehouse hours. There, the photographer lovingly stared at the shopping cart carrying a 100-pack Keurig Pod, posed in front of domestic plants, turning his wheels across the shop on a bright orange flatbed.
The assistant general manager was “really cool about it,” said Beth Harworth, 27. “He walked around with a leaf blower, making sure there was no trash and all the boxes looked full.”
Harwerths used engagement photos on a Save the Date invitation, designed to look like the Costco Food Court menu, and offered Costco cakes at their wedding.
