‘People in L.A. are so gullible’: A $19 strawberry has sparked internet debate over luxury foods

A $19 strawberry has broken the internet.

Over the weekend, several content creators went viral with reviews of one very expensive berry, purchased from the upscale Los Angeles-based grocery chain Erewhon.

“Apparently it’s the best-tasting strawberry in the entire world,” influencer Alyssa Antoci says in a video that has racked up more than 15 million views. It’s worth noting that Antoci appears to be a social media manager for Erewhon, and her family also owns the store. “Wow. That is the best strawberry. That’s crazy,” she adds.

Along with the $19 price tag, the berries from luxury Japanese fruit vendor Elly Amai are individually packaged, set on a small cushion inside a miniature plastic cloche for protection—exactly how one would expect such an expensive berry to be packaged. On its website, the company claims to sell only the “highest-quality fruits from Japan’s most celebrated farms.”

Not everyone is impressed. “People in L.A. are so gullible,” one commenter wrote. “If I dropped $20 on a strawberry, I’d probably convince myself it was the best one I’ve ever tasted too,” wrote another.

“It does taste good but is it worth the $19?” content creator @janemukbangs questioned in a TikTok video with 5.5 million views. (Spoiler alert: It wasn’t.)

Whether people are willing to pay a premium for Japanese berries or it’s simply a case of clever marketing, this isn’t the first time the celeb-loved L.A. grocery store has made headlines for its pricey products. This month, it’s a $19 strawberry; last year, it was a $32 bag of specialty ice. In a time when many are struggling to afford even basic groceries, it’s easy to see why a ridiculously expensive strawberry has rubbed some people the wrong way.

Or, as one commenter theorized, “Erewhon was 100% started by a group of uni students who wanted to run a social experiment on consumerism. They ended up accidentally creating a successful grocery so now they just watch and laugh.”