The Freebie Costco Shoppers In China Can Enjoy Before The Store Opens
Did you know that in China, Costco shoppers can enjoy a freebie or two for breakfast even before the store opens? From 8:30 am to 9:30 am every morning, an hour before opening time, Costco shoppers can line up, grab a paper plate, and get leftover pastries from the day before.
Pastries include dinner rolls, marbled bread, and croissants (one of Coscto's most popular bakery treats), but it does not appear to include sugared orange rolls. According to TikTok user Dr.Candise, Costco shoppers in China can enjoy delicious unlimited cornsilk tea and juice with their freebie pastries, but not unlimited rounds of pastries.
Still, this is a good effort on Costco's part to reduce food waste in China. According to the Institute of Geographic and National Resources Research and the World Wide Fund for Nature, via Earth.org, nearly 40 million tons of food go to waste annually in China, which is enough to feed an average of 40 million people. In the U.S., as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notes, about 60 million tons of food go to waste, and over 44 million people face food insecurity yearly, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Costco works with Feeding America and World Vision, two non-profit organizations in America, to donate and recycle leftover food.
Costcos across East Asia offer colorful and delicious bakery treats you can't find in America
It's great to see the leftover croissants, dinner rolls, and marbled bread go to good use in China's Costcos, feeding the shoppers before they go shopping. Those pastries are just some of the bakery treats China's Costcos sell. In Shanghai, you can find delicious items that would make American Costco members green with envy: taro basque cheesecakes, creme choux (or cream puffs), and chicken curry pockets. You can also find beautiful butter and berry madeleines, frosted croissant donuts, and different kinds of cookies.
Across East Asia's Costcos, like in Taipei, you can also find mochi oozing out of the pastries. In Japan, you can find fluffy Japanese hotel bread, pain au chocolat, bicolor croissants, and delicious cheese tarts. In South Korea, you can find a super popular cream-filled bun or cream ppang.
It appears, for now, that only China's Costcos offer leftover bakery treats as breakfast freebies. Costco members in America, don't despair. You can still enjoy all the freebie samples when you shop at Costco. Be sure to take note of the best days to shop at Costco if you're after the free samples. Also, rejoice as new sample kiosks have been spotted at Costco.