More than just a bag

With his idea of the smart combination of a bag and backpack, Notabag founder Adnan Alicusic started a young brand driven by the mission to invent useful products that improve our lives.

The bag that simply transforms into a backpack has become an evergreen companion for family trips, grocery shopping, hikes in nature, or vacations while changing the rules and adapting to everyday life.

Get to know the product

The Notabag Story

Just like a seed slowly grows with care and the gift of nature, Notabag grew from a thought to a product to a brand.

During a family visit to Europe in 2009, Adnan ended up riding a bike to a farmer’s market. On the way back home, he found himself with a heavily filled grocery bag on the handlebar, struggling to navigate the bike in the urban jungle. At that very moment, he just wished he could turn this bag into a backpack.

"Manoeuvring through the busy city traffic, I started visualising how a simple bag could transform into a backpack." - Adnan, Founder of Notabag

A founder’s favorite’s party

Years passed by, but Adnan couldn’t let go of the idea in his head. So, in 2011 when he moved to Europe, he teamed up with Ilaria Gregianin, a friend and a fashion designer from Milan. Together, they started working on a prototype and finalized it with patent registration in 2012. To test the demand for this refined and innovative version of a grocery bag, Adnan run a Kickstarter campaign at the end of 2012 – with a great success.

During this campaign, he almost sold 2500 bags. He realized that from now on he can live and breathe the Notabag dream, so he turned his living room into a small DIY logistic center. Together with his wife and friends, they threw a packaging party to fulfill the Kickstarter campaigns orders – it was his all-time favorite party.

Where there’s a will there’s a bag

Growing up in former Yugoslavia, Adnan witnessed the beginning of the civil war at the age of nine – he still recalls the scenes of shootings and nights spent in shelters. Together with his sisters, he had to leave his parents and hometown, taking refuge in Croatia and then Germany. Eight years later, he moved to the USA with part of his family.

These early life experiences made him the person he is today - resourceful being.

What’s next on Notabag’s journey?

The vision for Notabag is to be positioned and perceived as a global brand. One of the next big milestones is to spread Notabag’s worldwide presence and love, while focusing on sustainability, establishing win-win partnerships, and at the same time nurturing the brand’s DNA. Further collaborations with designers and brands, as well as new products will evolve in the year 2023 and coming.