Trader Joe’s tiny coolers are selling like hot cakes. Why and how do products go viral?

A few months ago, Thaddeus Yan heard that Trader Joe’s was preparing to sell a fairly mundane new item: A miniature insulated cooler bag. Right away, he was on the lookout. When he went to London on a trip, he even deputized his mom to keep an eye out for the bags.

A few months ago, Thaddeus Yan heard that Trader Joe’s was preparing to sell a fairly mundane new item: A miniature insulated cooler bag. Right away, he was on the lookout. When he went to London on a trip, he even deputized his mom to keep an eye out for the bags. After months of waiting, Yan drove to a Trader Joe’s at 7:30 one morning this month and bought as many as he could, given the store’s purchasing limit: Two in bright teal, and one in hot pink, both with prominent TJ’s branding. Yan, a social media content creator, paid $3.99 for each of the small bags (too tiny for his Stanley cup, he noted in a TikTok video on his “thaddybearz” account — but big enough for a six pack). Others may not be so lucky. The mini-coolers have already been listed for several times that price on eBay. Yan is part of a throng of influencers who have been changing, and even accelerating, the way certain retail products go viral. They’re not only rushing out to buy as many items as they can, but spreading the word on their popular social channels, where trends catch fire. Before social media, it took a lot more for a niche item to hit. “You’d have to see people in public settings,” so trends were much more localized, said Colin Campbell, an associate professor of marketing at the University of San Diego’s Knauss business school. But now “you can have it all happen instantly across the whole country.” This isn’t even the first time little Trader Joe’s bags have gone viral. In March, shoppers went wild over Trader Joe’s mini canvas tote bags, which rapidly sold out. Most brands don’t see their products take off this way, especially not twice in a row. On those rare occasions, companies make hay: They talk to fans online and build new marketing campaigns, squeezing as much as possible out of that moment in the sun.