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Students at several California universities have founded Costco clubs to save money and make friends by purchasing large packaged goods together, and have spawned campus activities such as shopping, reading clubs, and eating competitions.
in manySugar In our view, college students often rely solely on microwaved instant noodles, cooked boxed mac and cheese, or endure less than delicious meals in school cafeterias to fill their stomachs. But nowadays, creative and budget conscious peopleCalifornia University (UC) students are actively looking for ways to eat better while saving money on food.costco As a result, the (Costco) Club was born on campus.
According to SFGate, over the past few years, Costco clubs, which are independently run by students and officially recognized by the university, have been established on several University of California campuses, including UC Davis, UCLA, and UC San Diego. The appeal of these clubs is simple: Students typically don’t have much space to store large amounts of luggage, so they can jointly purchase and share the cost of larger packaged items. Not only can they save a lot of money, but they also get the opportunity to make friends and increase social interaction.
Of these Costco Societies, the first was established at the University of California, San Diego, founded by Johnny Gong in 2022. The current second president of the club is Kexin Li, a fourth-year international business student. Since it was established first, the activities of this society may also be the most active. They host a Costco shopping trip every two weeks.
Talking about the original intention of establishing the club and helping students save on groceries, Li Kexin told SFGate that the quality of Costco’s products is really good, and there is no need to compromise on quantity. The markup on many items cannot exceed 14%. Li Kexin pointed out that the Society has about 1,000 active members on Instagram who frequently participate in activities, and the current number of people following the account is about 7,000.
The club uses the community to promote Costco shopping trips and a contest that has become the club’s signature: the Costco Kirkland Brand Roasted Chicken Eating Contest. The event is usually held each year in May, at the end of the school year. “When we held a barbecue chicken eating contest, about 2,000 people participated.”
In July of this year, the club launched an exciting event: at a 50th anniversary celebration held at the Costco store they frequent, club members had the opportunity to meet Costco founder Jim Sinegal and current CEO Ron Vachris.
On the other hand, in Northern California, the Costco Club at the University of California, Davis was founded two years ago and officially began operating on campus about a year ago. The club was co-founded by three senior students, Sharon Hwang, Katrina Le, and Steven Zhang.
In addition to organizing two Costco shopping trips each quarter, the club also holds a “Study Jam” before final exam week, and prepares pizza and various snacks for students to communicate while studying. The three founders were inspired by the Costco Society at the University of California, San Diego.
Hwang said he usually goes to Costco with his classmates, so he thought, why not turn it into a club so everyone can have a chance to meet new friends. They can also transport people who don’t have a car or a Costco membership card to get groceries. These students have a soft spot for Costco.
UCLA’s Costco Club is the newest of these clubs. It was co-founded this fall by seniors Serenity Shadowens, Ashley Peterson, Bethlehem Adugna, David Delgado and Katherine Chong.
Although the club is still in its infancy, it has quickly gained popularity on campus. Peterson said he has received a great response from the school. I originally thought the club would be small in size, but unexpectedly, the campus newspaper Daily Bruin suddenly contacted them for an interview. The number of her Instagram followers has reached almost 800 people and her most popular post has received 50,000 views.
Summary FAQ
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Because students want to buy more cost-effective groceries with limited budgets and dorm space, they can share the cost of larger packages through joint purchasing, and they can also meet new friends and expand their campus social circle.
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The earliest established club was the UC San Diego Club, founded in 2022 by Johnny Gong. It now organizes shopping trips every two weeks, as well as a Kirkland Roasted Chicken eating contest, in which a large number of students participate.
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In addition to regular shopping, the UC Davis club also holds study jams and provides pizza snacks before final exams. Although the UCLA club is relatively new, it has quickly gained attention on campus and has wide exposure on a social level.
