Trader Joe's Sold-Out Mini Totes Are Coming Back—Here's What To Know
Trader Joe's first released its adorable mini tote bags in March, and they quickly became a viral sensation. The highly coveted items flew off the shelves, and many were left empty-handed as they sold out quickly. So, it's great news for fans that the bags are finally coming back to stores.
A Trader Joe's representative confirmed to CNBC Make It that the mini tote bags will return to stores on Sept. 18. However, these bags will only be offered as a limited-time item as opposed to an everyday product, according to a Trader Joe's representative. That means they are highly likely to be in short supply again.
The mini tote bags are a smaller version of Trader Joe's larger-sized canvas bags and feature the same cotton and polyester blend. They come in navy, yellow, red, or forest green and are about 13 inches long, by 11 inches tall, by six inches wide. Each costs $2.99.
The grocery chain notes on its website that these totes are "ideal for smaller shopping trips, to pick up those few items you forgot the first time around." Shoppers also recommend using them as lunch bags.
When the mini totes first landed on shelves, some stores had to place purchase limits on them. Scalpers even re-listed the bags for hundreds of dollars on websites like eBay. Fortunately, the grocery chain confirmed the item's return, with a representative sharing in March the bags would come back in late summer.
During an episode of the "Inside Trader Joe's" podcast, host Matt Sloan said the company didn't expect to see such a high demand for the bags.
"We thought we bought enough of these mini canvas totes to last for several weeks, maybe a whole month," he said. "We had no inkling that they would be this exciting, this quickly, for so many customers. We had actually hundreds of thousands of bags come in and go out within a week."
The mini canvas totes weren't the only Trader Joe's bags to sell out quickly this year. In June, Trader Joe's rolled out a miniature version of its insulated bags, which were offered in teal and magenta for $3.99 apiece. Like the mini canvas totes, the insulated bags went viral and sold out of stores, with some people reselling the product for over $100.
In addition to the mini tote bags, TJ's is bringing plenty of excitement to stores by releasing a wide variety of fall items. Earlier this month, the grocery chain launched its new Pumpkin Spice Mini Sheet Cake (310 calories), which is made with pumpkin purée, warm spices, and a cream cheese frosting.
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