Mochi croissants and truffle chips: Here's what it's like to shop at Costco in China

If you plan to visit China anytime soon, you might want to add another hot destination to your itinerary: Costco.

TikToker @tinyhangrytiff, or Tiffany, is a Seattle-based content creator, and her video of a recent supermarket trip gained 2.7 million views in less than a week.

In the clip, Tiffany heads to a Costco in Shenzhen, China, which is likely nothing like your local version.

For starters, this location, which opened in January 2024, has a separate parking spot for bicycles and motorbikes.

“First impression: this Costco is huge,” said Tiffany. “And I was overwhelmed with all their selections.”

Some items for sale include colourful Stanley Cups, bags of pistachios, and Boom Chicka Pop popcorn. But you may have seen those at your nearest Costco.

We then venture into more unusual items available for sale, including Wagyu shank, pickled chicken feet, Truffle-flavoured chips, crawfish-flavoured chips, chicken-flavoured Ruffles, and citrus-flavoured Lays chips.

Other items worth a mention were the white strawberries, giant platters of fresh salmon sashimi, and sushi.

Watch the video below:

@tinyhangrytiff The #costco in China tho! My favorite kind of shopping when I’m in Asia #costcohaul #costcofinds #costcomusthaves #costcochina #costcoshenzhen #costcotiktok ♬ original sound – tinyhangrytiff

Forget dumplings; food samples at this Costco are pretty extra.

Customers can be seen lining up to sample Argentina red shrimp. And seafood can’t get fresher than this: customers can pick up nets to choose their live lobster from a tank.

Even the bakery section is magical.

The store has trays of egg sandwiches, taro mochi croissant, strawberry cream buns, and pistachio croissant. Other items include plushies, Nautica underwear, and a cool Chinese New Year-themed sweater.

And if you’re also in the mood for something a little familiar, they sell rotisserie chicken.

Another TikTok video by @candiselin86 states that Costco in China also offers free breakfast one hour before opening every morning from 8:30 am to 9:30 am. The menu includes juice and unsold pastries from the previous day.

There are other unexpected products, too, such as luxury leather goods like Chanel, and Hermès bags, Salvatore Ferragamo belts, Rolex watches, and Canada Goose jackets.

Watch the video below:

@candiselin86 Shoppers noticed that the trench coats are now locked in a display case because some people got free samples of the roast chicken and touched the coats with their greasy fingers 🤦🏻‍♀️ #costco #china #costcofinds #chinese #breakfast #hermes #handbag #free #lotsobear #plushies #disney ♬ Old Disney Swing Jazz – Nico

Viewers bemoaned the fact that their local Costco doesn’t offer anything nearly as cool.

“The way I would leave with a cart full of salmon sashimi,” wrote one commenter.

“I want Costco to do a revolving foods selection,” stated another. “Just a few a month that changes out the best sellers internationally. Would be so neat to try them out.”

“Can you ship some truffle chips to Vancouver, please?” asked one viewer.

“The fact that Chinese Costco diverse food waste while letting people in the store an hour early is such a profitable policy, I love it,” wrote a commenter.

Which of these items would you like to see at your local Costco? Let us know in the comments!