Pickles: From Fashion to Books to Snacks

Traipsing down the West Village in athleisure sets, you'll see twenty-something girls with narrow, black 90s-style sunglasses and their hair carelessly thrown up with a butterfly clip living out their West Village, Carrie Bradshaw dream. 

Depending on which street in the Village you decide to pause and murmur to yourself: Why does everyone kind of look alike? And then: Should I dress better? You may find yourself standing in front of the latest cool thing. The Pickle. 

Yes, the pickle is back, but this time around, it’s assuming different forms. 

Located on 21 8th Avenue, Pickle is much more than a storefront; it's a peer-to-peer marketplace that helps people earn passive income by renting out their clothes. While it has an app and website, Pickle’s physical storefront has a hidden gem quality and plays an important role in brand discovery.

“There are many people discovering Pickle for the first time passing by the store...[they] come in and the concept of peer-to-peer rentals makes sense - the convenience, the affordability, the community feel. We want the store to feel like your most stylish friend opened their closet up to you - and that closet is constantly rotating with of-the-moment, seasonal items,” says Pickle’s cofounder Julia O’Mara.

And if you're wondering if anyone truly goes into stores to shop anymore, the answer is an astounding yes. O’Mara tells us:

“There's constant traffic. The end of the work week and weekends are particularly busy as people shop for last-minute weekend outfits. I was in the store last weekend and 20+ people were shopping at once, and it's a small space!” 

While Pickle’s storefront has contributed to significant brand awareness, influencers are a major discovery channel. From the start, O’Mara recognized the value of building relationships with influencers who would become early adopters of Pickle, “[We built] organic relationships with local NYC micro-influencers… [they] helped unlock inroads with larger influencers…It was a domino effect, and we saw a surge in organic content from people [like] Jade Beguelin, who genuinely loved Pickle and wanted to share it with their followers.” 

Pickle shows no signs of slowing down. O’Mara mentions several, exciting partnerships they have in the pipeline with brands like Locker and influencers like Jules Jacobson. 

And when asked the obvious question: Why name it Pickle? O’Mara admits it comes from her clothing crises, “My cofounder and I are both shopping procrastinators, so the name is a nod to being ‘in a pickle’ without the right outfit at the right time!”

After leaving Pickle with a new wardrobe, take a stroll across town to the Lower East Side and encounter an entirely new pickle. Tucked away on 47 Orchard Street is Sweet Pickle Books, a used bookstore that also sells pickles. 

After losing her job and dealing with the pandemic, Leigh Altshuler decided it was time to live her life and do what she wanted. She opened her bookstore in December 2020 and named it Sweet Pickle Books as tribute to the Lower East Side’s rich pickling history: 

Leigh recalls, “I naively thought everyone else knew about the neighborhood's briny background. Essex Street was once named Pickle Alley...Every day through giddy smiles at the register people say, ‘Books and pickles are my two favorite things!’” 

In just over three years, Sweet Pickle Books has made a name for itself. Frequented by locals and celebrities like Harry Styles, Sweet Pickle Books has been featured in major publications including The NYT and Vanity Fair. They’ve also donated over 1,500 books to NYC classrooms and sent out online orders to 25+ states and 15+ countries.

With its disco ball, pickle wall, and impromptu events (they recently did a jewelry pop-up with Cashfana), Sweet Pickle Books leaves a lasting impression, and its success is no surprise.

When asked if pickles have become cool again, Leigh says matter-of-factly, “Yes. Everything old is new again and somehow pickling falls into this category.”

And the newest pickle product to hit the shelves is Hot Girl Pickles by Good Girl Snacks. Co-founded by Leah Marcus and Yasaman Bakhtiar, Good Girls Snacks is on a mission to reinvent the pickle and introduce new flavors to the pickle scene. 

Leah Marcus says, “With the current pickles on the market largely being homogenous in flavors in packaging, we set out to do something completely different. With our flavors – Honey Harissa and Original Dill with a Turmeric Twist – inspired by our Middle Eastern heritage, and our pink and blue labels, we’re already making marks as the ‘coolest’ pickle company out there.” 

Partnerships with companies like Pickle (interviewed earlier in the article) and an engaging social media presence have also added to Hot Girl Pickles' cool factor. 

Leah tells us, “Our focus on short-form content on social media has amassed a whopping 30k+ followers, before our consumers even have had a chance to try the product.” 

Hot Girl Pickles officially launched on February 29th and has already experienced incredible demand and excitement, especially among Gen-Z. 

But when asked if Pickles are cool, Leah cautions, “Pickles aren’t cool, yet. With Good Girl Snacks, we’re on a mission to innovate the pickle aisles through our branding, marketing, and flavor innovation.”

Notes: 

If you want to try Hot Girl Pickles for yourself, head to Pop Up Grocer and pick up a jar. 

If you want to understand trends and why something becomes cool, Leigh Altshuler recommends Deluxe: How Luxury Lost its Luster by Dana Thomas and Small is Beautiful: Economics as if People Mattered by EF Schumacher.

If you want to save money and look good, go to Pickle.