Costco Brings Back $1.49 Churro

Costco removed the churro in January 2024, replacing it with a larger chocolate chip cookie priced at $2.49. The change was unpopular with members, who treated the churro as one of the chain’s most affordable snacks and a staple for families moving through the warehouse. Costco’s social media tease last week sparked immediate guesses that the item would return, and the company confirmed it with an Instagram video showing the sign going back on the menu with a “limited time” sticker. The return will vary by store.

The move is notable because it comes with little direct financial impact but outsized brand value. Costco’s latest quarterly net sales rose 11.3% to $93.9 billion, and it ended the period with 81.4 million paid memberships worldwide, giving the company a broad base of customers who are highly sensitive to changes in perceived value. In that context, the churro is a cheap way to keep goodwill high, especially when it follows other menu changes that members have resisted.

Investors tend to look past food court chatter, but these decisions can be read as signals about the broader retail playbook. Costco continues to defend volume and member loyalty through low prices, even as costs move higher across the retail landscape. That strategy is central to its model and helps explain why the shares have remained supported despite volatility in the broader consumer backdrop. Recent price action shows Costco trading below its 50-day moving average but near short-term stabilization, suggesting the market is still weighing whether the stock’s premium valuation can be sustained as consumer spending becomes less predictable.

The flip side is that Costco has shown it will also cut or swap items when economics require it, as it did with the combo pizza in 2020 to simplify kitchen operations and lower costs. That makes the churro’s comeback less a permanent reversal than a reminder that the menu is part economics, part psychology. For members, it is a win. For Costco, it is a low-cost way to keep the brand’s value proposition front and center while it navigates a tougher consumer environment.