Fan-favorite totes make their return
Trader Joe’s has officially announced that its small canvas tote bags, which prompted shopping stampedes and resale prices up to $500, are coming back this fall. The California grocery store chain told USA TODAY on Aug. 18 that the bags will make their return, but it did not give a specific date.
While Trader Joe’s hasn’t issued any colour or price announcements, the Reno Gazette Journal wrote on August 13 that the new mini-totes will cost $2.99 each and be available in black, orange, purple, and multicoloured prints.
Pastel bags sold out in April
In April 2025, the last production batch of mini totes featured pastel colors—blue, pink, purple, and green—that most people assumed were Easter-themed. Those sold out in stores almost overnight, with several retailers limiting the number of shoppers who could buy them as a way of containing demand.
As explained by Nakia Rohde, Trader Joe’s spokesperson, the totes rapidly sold out. “Customers across the country found them at their local Trader Joe’s before we could do any sort of promotion,” Rohde explained in March 2024, when the totes first went viral.
Viral frenzy and $500 resale prices
When the mini canvas tote bags initially launched last year, viral videos of shoppers fighting to purchase them spread quickly on Instagram and TikTok. Some consumers waited in hours-long lines, while others said that the bags sold out within a few hours.
The craze made it so that resellers sold the $2.99 bags on online marketplaces for hundreds of dollars, including some Facebook Marketplace and eBay postings as high as $500.
Trader Joe’s fought back strongly at the time, asserting that it did not support or condone selling its products in a secondary market. “To make it clear, we neither support nor condone the reselling of our products and do everything in our power to prevent the practice,” the company said.
Mini insulated totes are now available
Although the mini canvas totes are not yet back on store shelves, Trader Joe’s currently offers mini insulated tote bags for $3.99 each. The peach and blue lunchbox-sized bags provide the customer with a small yet practical way of carrying snacks, drinks, or grocery items until the mini canvas totes become available once more.
These insulated totes are not part of the viral canvas line, but also ought to appeal to fans interested in something similar until fall arrives.
What to expect this fall?
If the spring drop was anything to judge by, the upcoming mini tote drop will be swift and ruthless. Fans should arrive early to buy the limited-edition bags before they sell out.
Trader Joe’s has not indicated whether it will limit purchases this time to discourage resellers, but following the frenzy in 2024 and 2025, the company will do everything possible to offer more customers a chance to obtain one at retail price.
Stylish and affordable
Trader Joe’s mini tote revival is proof that even a $2.99 grocery bag can become a cultural phenomenon. The frenzy for these teeny-weeny canvas bags is far from over—and with new colours on the horizon, consumers are already gearing up for another bout of tote madness.
Whether you plan on using the bag for grocery shopping, as a carryall throughout the day, or simply to join the fad, here’s one thing you can be sure of: you won’t have to spend $500 this time around — provided you’re at Trader Joe’s when supplies are exhausted.
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