Costco fans – For some Costco members, shopping is more than routine—it becomes identity. From Max Ellinger’s Kirkland Signature tattoo to families holding birthdays and even engagement photos inside warehouses, the wholesale giant’s cult-like following is built on access,
A tattoo artist’s chair became permanent proof of devotion for Max Ellinger. In 2019. after a friend persuaded a Costco bakery to make a cake with the company logo by telling staff Ellinger was “such a big fan. ” Ellinger took a different leap: Costco asked for a photograph. and he slid into a tattoo parlor chair and turned a “little white lie” into ink.
The only tattoo on Ellinger’s right arm is the Kirkland Signature logo. the Costco house brand that spans products from rotisserie chicken to laundry detergent. “Kirkland Signature represents quality, value, integrity and treating other people well and that is resonant with me,” Ellinger said. “It carries a lot more meaning than a lot of tattoos.”.
His devotion didn’t start with branded merchandise. It grew through weekly shopping trips with his parents. After Ellinger left home, roaming the familiar warehouse aisles in a new city was comfort. In school, classmates knew him as the guy who shepherded them to Costco. Even his dating life came with conditions: his online dating profile included one rule—no Sam’s Club members.
When his partner became his husband. the seriousness showed up not just in the decision to get married. but in the membership. Ellinger’s spouse joined as his “plus one” on his Costco membership. When the couple moved to Champaign, Illinois, Ellinger approved the move only after checking there was a Costco 12 minutes away.
Other Costco super fans translate affection into visible signals too. Tom Solakov. who previously worked for Costco before shifting to graphic design. got a tattoo of the company’s $1.50 hot-dog-and-soda deal. He said he appreciated how Costco treated its staffers. A photo of his tattoo drew more than 23,000 likes on Instagram and 17,000 upvotes in a Costco subreddit.
Ellinger and Solakov are examples of a broader shift in retail culture: “super fans” building unusually tight bonds with national brands. showing loyalty with tattoos and other symbols. That trend isn’t confined to Costco. Musician Ed Sheeran, for instance, has a tattoo of a Heinz Ketchup bottle on his arm.
Paul Booth, a media and popular culture professor at DePaul University who researches fandom, said, “We have always had fandoms and we have always had brand fandoms, but they are growing and stronger now.”
Booth traces how fandom moved from niche spaces into mainstream life—leaping from sci-fi conventions such as Star Trek into wider public culture through the internet, giving people a gathering place to celebrate shared love for things including videogames, TV shows, musical acts, and sports teams.
Susan Kresnicka. a cultural anthropologist who studies fandom in the corporate sector. said “Some 85% of Americans identify as a fan.” She also described the personal work brands can do beyond products. Fandom has become a way of signaling identity and bonding with people who think like you, she said.
In grocery and convenience, those identities are showing up in everyday behavior and online culture. “Wawa fam” rallies around the Pennsylvania-based chain known for its hoagies. including the Gobbler—a Thanksgiving roll stuffed with hot turkey. gravy. stuffing. and cranberry sauce. Aldi’s devotion has turned into social shorthand. with shoppers “caw cawing” over “Aldi Finds. ” the store’s rotating selections of cheap impulse buys in an aisle dubbed the “aisle of shame.”.
Devotees of Buc-ee’s—the Texas supersize convenience-store-and-gas-stop chain—camp to be first at new locations, likened to how Apple groupies mob sidewalks for days to get the new iPhone. The chain is known for famously clean restrooms, barbecued brisket, and beaver statues.
Wegmans fans call themselves “Wegmaniacs.” After Wegmans opened its first spot in Massachusetts in 2011. a local high school staged a musical about the community’s excitement. including an in-store marriage proposal. Trader Joe’s “stans” line up for hours for viral mini tote bags with the grocery chain’s name and logo.
For Costco partisans. the devotion can look like a cult—even when the store experience is ordinary on paper: customers dash off to Costco several times a week to cruise aisles and munch on samples; they collect logo merch; they monitor new drops on TikTok; and they argue online about everything from the ethics of Costco returns to giant cookies versus churros in the food court.
Alyssa Munoz’s family goes so often she jokes they live there. The mother of three from San Jose even holds playdates at Costco, with kids piled in one cart and groceries in another. After checking out, she said, the treat is ice cream from the food court.
During the COVID-19 pandemic. Munoz said she used to shop for others and filled her camera roll taking pictures of bargains and cool new items. She launched a Facebook group for Bay Area Costco members so they could share what was on shelves in local stores and trade hot tips. Five years later, the Facebook group has 169,000 members.
“I don’t want to say Costco has defined me,” Munoz said. “but it has.”
Rebecca Jen-Hui Wang. an associate professor of marketing at Lehigh University. said customers don’t just shop at Costco—they take pride in being associated with it. In her description. Costco functions like a club: it offers status and community. but instead of inflated luxury prices. the membership fee unlocks trusted products and a consistently positive shopping experience.
Marketing experts tie that experience to a feeling of abundance. Costco’s curated assortment ranges from wagyu beef and Dubai chocolates to soap and toilet paper. Lauren Beitelspacher. a marketing professor at Babson College. said loyalty forms when companies consistently deliver and when shoppers feel excited by what comes next. “Part of that comes from the idea of discovering something new but also from the comfort of knowing what you are going to get.”.
Even the emotional payoff is showing up in fans’ own words. Jasmine Pak, a content creator from Anaheim, California, said Costco is how she practices self care. “I shop at Costco religiously,” Pak said. “There are times I go to Costco and I don’t even buy anything. I’m there to cheer myself up. There’s something in that Costco air, it just brings me a sense of peace.”.
Claudia Chee, a content creator known as “Costco Claudia” on Instagram, calls the store her “safe space.” Each year, she takes an international trip to see Costco warehouses in other countries. “If there’s no Costco, I’m not going,” she said. “That’s literally my standard.”
For some shoppers, the warehouse isn’t just where they buy things—it’s where they celebrate life. Tiffany Remington. a content creator from Portland. Oregon. said she and her husband used Costco as the theme for her two kids’ birthday party. On weekly grocery trips, their daughter Fei and son Khai love snacking on free samples and exploring aisles. Remington created junior executive member-themed cards for guests and customized menu posters with her children’s photoshopped next to chicken bakes and hot dogs. A cart offered snacks the kids could “shop” for. and the food included samples of egg rolls served in muffin liners and classic food court staples like Costco pizza.
In 2024. when Katie Staley planned a 40th birthday for her husband. she thought about what mattered most to him: family and Costco. Adam Staley. who hits his local store at least four days a week for samples and deals. described Costco as an addiction—one he said is good for his family’s health and budget. His favorite wardrobe piece is a worn-out, chili-stained Kirkland logo hoodie.
When the family moved. Katie said the “major selling feature” of their new house in Kansas City. Missouri. was proximity to Costco: less than a five-minute drive. Katie sent a secret message to friends and family asking them to meet at Costco and spread out so they could pretend to run into Adam. Then they gathered in the food court with Costco pizza and sheet cake to surprise the father of three after checkout. The food court joined in singing “Happy Birthday,” and shoppers passing by got slices of cake.
“I wasn’t expecting any of that,” Adam Staley said. “all of my friends and family right there in my favorite place on Earth: Costco.”
Even engagement photos can become a Costco production. After countless date nights wandering aisles during executive member hours and dining on food-court pizza and hot dogs, Beth and Alec Harwerth decided there was no better location for their engagement photos.
Staff gave them access to an Overland Park, Kansas, warehouse after-hours. A photographer captured the couple gazing at each other over a shopping cart carrying a 100-pack of Keurig pods. posing in front of a line of houseplants and wheeling across the store atop a bright orange flatbed. Beth Harwerth said the assistant general manager was “really cool about it.” “He walked around with a leaf blower and made sure there was no trash and all the boxes looked full.”.
The Harwerths used the engagement photos for their save-the-date invitation designed to look like a Costco food-court menu. At their wedding, they served Costco cake.
The pattern across these stories is hard to miss: the loyalty doesn’t stay behind the cash register. It becomes ink, inside jokes, calendars, family plans, and even the background for vows—turning shopping into a place where people feel seen, connected, and at ease.
Costco Kirkland Signature retail fandom tattoos shopping culture Costco members grocery loyalty Aldi Trader Joe's Buc-ee's Wegmans Wawa brand community