Twice’s San Francisco Zoo Visit Sparks Surge in Demand for Vintage Safari T-Shirt Merchandise Sales

A celebrity stopover turns a gift-shop item into a citywide online scramble

A brief visit by members of K-pop group Twice to the San Francisco Zoo has triggered an abrupt spike in demand for a vintage-style zoo T-shirt, prompting the nonprofit attraction to expand sales beyond its on-site gift shop and into its online store in recent days.

The zoo publicly confirmed the group’s visit in a social media post dated January 21, 2026, after fans began circulating images of members wearing matching shirts. The visit took place during the group’s Bay Area tour window, between two Oakland Arena concerts on January 17 and January 18, 2026.

What fans are buying, and how the zoo responded

The shirt at the center of the surge is a “vintage safari group scene” design that had been sold in the zoo’s gift shop. With demand outpacing typical in-person souvenir traffic, the zoo added the same shirt to its e-commerce catalog as a presale item, listing adult sizes starting at $27.99 and youth sizes at $24.99. Product listings indicate additional adult sizes carry slightly higher prices.

The zoo has said a portion of sales benefits its animal care program. The online move also appears designed to reduce the operational pressure created by the sudden wave of requests and inquiries, while allowing customers outside San Francisco to purchase the same design.

How the moment spread: social media visibility and coordinated fandom

Images of the members wearing the same design provided a clear, easily replicable purchase cue for fans. The result was rapid, high-intent traffic toward a single product, a pattern increasingly common when major artists are seen in a specific, identifiable item tied to a cultural institution.

• The product was easy to identify from photos, narrowing attention to one item.
• The purchase was simple to replicate once the item became available online.
• The item carried a local identity marker, effectively turning a souvenir into a shareable trend.

A familiar playbook for attractions: merchandise as fundraising infrastructure

The zoo’s response mirrors a recent pattern in which museums and aquariums use sudden demand for a specific shirt as an opportunity to raise funds for mission-driven programs. In a high-profile example in late 2025, a surge tied to a widely seen vintage aquarium shirt generated a large, rapid fundraising windfall for wildlife conservation.

The San Francisco Zoo’s decision to move the shirt online converts short-lived social momentum into a trackable revenue stream that can be routed to animal care.

For San Francisco institutions, the episode underscores how quickly a local brand can travel when amplified by global pop culture—and how operational readiness, inventory, and clear public communication can determine whether viral attention becomes a manageable boost or a strain on staff and supply.