Picture this: you walk into a coffee shop with a latte already in hand before you order. No, you’re not on your second coffee of the day. You’re just wearing a Pumpkin Spice Latte Bag from the brand Vendula: a cerulean-colored coffee cup-shaped purse with autumnal print, a pumpkin charm, and a patch that reads “Autumn Leaves & Pumpkins Please!”
That’s right, the term “you are what you eat” has finally found its path to outward expression. Food purses are on the rise, and they don’t show signs of fading any time soon.
Food-inspired novelty bags aren’t new to the fashion scene, especially within the designer handbag realm. In July 2024, Kate Spade released a limited-edition fashion collection in collaboration with Heinz. The collection featured a ketchup packet crossbody bag, ketchup design tote bag, and a ketchup packet keychain with french fries, among other “condiment couture” items.
Other brands like Nik Bentel and Moschino have previously released bags shaped like hot dogs, pizza slices, and McDonalds Happy Meal boxes.
For years, food purses have been an expression of humor, but only for those who can afford it, unless you count Amazon knockoffs. I mean, let’s be real — who’s spending $2,000 for a chip bag purse from Balenciaga?
Finally, food purses have become available for the general public at reasonable prices, and at the helm of this affordability movement is none other than Walmart.
On September 1, Walmart dropped limited-edition rotisserie chicken purses in honor of National Chicken Month, of which an article on the Walmart website claimed inspiration from the “oversized clutch trend for fall.”
There are two “flavors” of rotisserie chicken purse: Traditional and Lemon Pepper, both of which literally look like their real life counterparts of Walmart rotisserie chicken bags.
The gag is, the purses were sold for the same price as a real rotisserie chicken: a mere $5.97. on Walmart’s Spark Shop website. With a price like that, no wonder the first drop sold out in 90 minutes, with the second drop selling out even faster due to the high demand.
Burger King is also getting in on the food purse trend with their chic limited-edition “Le Nugguette” micro-bag, inspired by the fast food chain’s new and refreshed nuggets.
For $3.99 — the same price as a 4-piece order of nuggets — you will receive a suede handcrafted purse that is the same shape and similar size as a real chicken nugget, branded with BK in silver on the bottom corner. The bag also includes a mystery dipping sauce charm, celebrating Burger King’s four new sauces of Honey Mustard, Buffalo, Sweet & Sour, and Special Savory. You won’t know which sauce charm you get until you secure the bag.
The nugget bags are only available September 12 through 16 with only 100 bags dropping on each day at 12 p.m. EST. I’ll warn you: I did try to obtain my own “Le Nugguette” bag today, and it sold out in less than a minute. But there’s no harm in trying again tomorrow.
Betty Crocker is also celebrating a packaging design refresh with The Betty Ate handbag collection, which features three of the brand’s most popular cake mix flavors: Yellow Cake, Strawberry Cake, and Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake.
The bags resemble a perfect slice of each cake flavor, including a label that matches the corresponding cake mix packaging and a Red Spoon zipper signed “xo, Betty,” reminiscent of the Betty Crocker logo. Each bag also comes with accessories such as birthday candles, chocolate shaving swirls, and strawberries, which can be displayed interchangeably on the swirls of frosting on top of the bags.
The Betty Ate collection just sold out on its last day today, cementing another sweet food-inspired accessory in history.
For unique food bags that aren’t yet sold out but are still at a reasonable price point, Betsey Johnson is the place to look. Their bestselling “A Big Dill” bag resembles a giant green dill pickle on a chain, and for just over $100, it’s the perfect purse to get people talking. Other bags from Betsey Johnson, such as their “Olive You” olive-shaped bag and “Spread It On” bag shaped like a stick of butter, are all sure to be crowd pleasers. And if you’re not ready to commit to a food purse yet, their bread charm may be the perfect fit for you.
The popularity of these limited-edition food bags can be attributed to a multitude of factors: novelty, price point, and collectibility being a few of them.
One of my favorite things about these food bags is the brand’s commitment to the bit, not only indulging in the humor of the trend, but also doubling down on it as a marketing strategy. It’s one thing to put a food brand’s name on a purse, it’s a whole other thing to make the same brand’s food product into a delicious-looking statement bag.