Whole Foods Market, the U.S. Amazon-owned supermarket chain, announced in mid-July that it would release a limited-edition canvas tote bag in collaboration with FishWife, a premium canned fish company, via social media. A tote bag promo video posted on Instagram spread to other channels in no time and racked up more than 100 million views. Not even realizing this company made canned fish, I stopped by a Whole Foods store in Raleigh, North Carolina, on the morning of July 29.
The bag was quite expensive. The largest size was $24.99, and about $27 with tax. At the time, that was close to 40,000 won. The medium size was $14.99, and the small was $4.99. While I hesitated to buy, videos popped up on an SNS account showing people lining up to purchase the bag. When I returned to the store the next morning, it was sold out. After making the rounds of five nearby stores that morning, I managed to get my hands on the one remaining bag.
According to FishWife on the 6th, 70% of the total stock sold on launch day, and the one-week sell-through rate reached 99.3%. In major cities like Los Angeles, some customers lined up outside stores, and listings appeared on the online resale site eBay with markups. On eBay, the large sells for $105, and the medium and small go for $18–$40. On 11Street, a domestic online shopping mall, the medium and small are listed at 130,000 won.
How did a new tuna can brand manage to become so popular? In the U.S. food industry, FishWife is credited with elevating the humble pantry tuna can into a brand. Packaging that leans on vibrant colors and bold illustrations evokes high-end cosmetics. The price is as steep as cosmetics, too. The most popular three-pack of tuna cans (90g) costs $32 (about 44,000 won), or $11 (about 15,000 won) per can. Considering a three-pack of Dongwon Tuna for stew sells for about 20,000 won, it's more than double the price.
The company's secret to success is image-making. Founded in Los Angeles in 2020, the company coined the catchphrase "Hot girls eat tinned fish" the following year. Even at a higher price, it cemented itself as a "food you want to show others." The very act of popping a pretty can lid and laying the fish on bread or crackers became content. Consumers buy the food and simultaneously take photos to share.
The popularity of FishWife also got a boost from the U.S. startup competition show "Shark Tank." Co-founder Becca Millstein appeared on the program in Jan. 2024 and secured investment. The investors on the show valued the "brand" more than the "taste of the fish." In fact, from its 2020 founding, FishWife focused first on brand and package design before making products.
This FishWife tote bag boom also differs from the Trader Joe's tote bag craze. While the Trader Joe's bag emphasized a low price, FishWife led with the experience of "consuming a brand." Some analysts say the collaboration with Whole Foods extended FishWife's brand strategy one step further into household goods. Whole Foods, through the collaboration, was able to broaden its touchpoints with younger consumers. Whole Foods carries an image of organic and premium foods, and FishWife targets consumers who value brand experience. The "consumers who buy premium groceries" and the "consumers who buy pretty products" overlap.
The commercialization of GLP-1-class obesity treatments (Wegovy and Mounjaro as ingredients) has also created new opportunities for premium small-portion food brands like FishWife. As the new drugs make it possible to control human appetite, food companies are exploring products that deliver sufficient nutrition and satisfaction in small amounts. In a consumption environment where "what and how you eat" matters more than "how much you eat," small canned portions composed of quality protein are more than enough to stimulate consumer demand.
With these changes, the company is growing by the day. Starting with first-year sales of $75,000 (about 1 billion won) at launch, FishWife's sales last year totaled about $8 million (11 billion won). Its corporate value is estimated at $15 million (about 20 billion won).