For Phoebe Farag Mikhail, being a Costco executive member for 18 years has shaped how she feeds her family of five, and her regular cart tells a story about balancing cost, convenience and flavour. The nine items she returns to consistently range from bulk ground beef to a premium smoked Norwegian salmon that she says she cannot find anywhere else near her.
The Costco Executive Member Picks Powering Weeknight Meals
Ground beef sits at the top of the list, divided into four freezer bags to stretch across multiple meals, including Egyptian-style kofta and beef stew. Kirkland Signature pita bread doubles as a vehicle for hawashi sandwiches, a filling lunch Mikhail describes as inexpensive to make, though she notes she hopes Costco will eventually produce a whole-wheat version.
The Kirkland Signature frozen tilapia loins earn a place for a practical reason: each loin is individually wrapped, allowing the household to thaw only what is needed. Mikhail’s teenage son has developed a tilapia bake seasoned with Lawry’s garlic salt, black pepper, ground cumin, ground coriander, onions and peppers, served over spaghetti. The resulting seafood pasta costs about $5 per person, well below restaurant prices for a comparable dish.
Amylu Andouille chicken sausages appear on the list for their versatility: grilled whole, or sliced and cooked in a skillet with onions and peppers to serve over rice. Kirkland Signature organic eggs round out the protein staples, often combined with chicken sausage into a baked egg casserole, though Mikhail notes the eggs are never wasted because the whole family is happy to eat them at breakfast regardless.
Columbus uncured turkey bacon replaced pork bacon in the household without complaint, she says. The package comes in four vacuum-sealed packs, making portion control and storage straightforward. The turkey bacon pairs with Kirkland Signature lightly breaded, fully cooked chicken breast fillets for what Mikhail calls a quick and favourite bacon-chicken sandwich. Those fillets, which can be baked or air-fried, also serve as a shortcut in any recipe calling for breaded chicken.
Rounding out the list are two items squarely in the premium tier. Poppen smoked Norwegian salmon, which Mikhail says is available only at Costco near her, features thicker slices that are easier to separate than other smoked salmon she has bought. The product comes with a honey-mustard dill dressing, making it a ready meal alongside pita bread, lettuce and red onions. The BelGioioso Italian cheese board, containing slices of provolone, fontina, Parmesan and Asiago, covers everything from cheeseburgers and grilled cheese sandwiches to a charcuterie board with crackers, fruit and cold cuts.
Kirkland Signature’s Weight Inside Costco’s Wider Business
The prominence of Kirkland Signature products across Mikhail’s cart reflects a broader commercial reality. According to Fractional Brand Managers, Kirkland Signature generates an estimated $90 billion in annual sales and accounts for approximately one-third of Costco’s total revenue, figures that underscore just how central the private label has become to the retailer’s model.
Data from the Private Label Manufacturers Association puts Kirkland Signature merchandise penetration at about 28% of total Costco sales, a figure that increased just under 1% compared to a year ago. That incremental rise suggests the label is still gaining ground even from a position of considerable scale.
Pricing on some Kirkland Signature lines has also shifted. Quartz reported that Kirkland Signature King Size Sheets dropped $10 to $79.99, Golf Balls shed $3 to reach $29.99, and both Kirkland Signature Crispy Wings and Kirkland Signature Milk Chocolate Almonds moved to $14.99 and $18.99, respectively. For members like Mikhail, who rely on the label for multiple items in every shop, those incremental reductions compound across a full basket.
For her household, the appeal is straightforward: a set of reliable products that make feeding five people manageable without the cost of restaurant meals or the convenience premium of online grocery delivery. The tilapia bake at $5 a head makes the arithmetic plain enough on its own.