‘Feels illegal': Shopper's supermarket hack to save cash

News.com.au

8 hours ago

The supermarket grape debate has been reignited after a video went viral of a shopper showing off her produce bag 'hack' that allows you to buy as many grapes as you need, not just the quantity in the pre-portioned bags.
In the short clip, Holly Moffatt is seen lifting grapes out of their original packaging and transferring a smaller amount into a brown mushroom paper bag.
'Feels illegal but actually it's a life hack. See this bag of grapes? You can take the grapes out and put them in a separate bag 'cause you just want a few. You don't want the whole bag,' she explained.
'I know it feels wrong but trust me, it tastes SO right,' she added in the caption of the video, which now has nearly half a million views.
The grape debate
The clip was instantly flooded with comments, each offering a different perspective on supermarket grape etiquette.
Some viewers were quick to call out the move.
'You cannot do that,' one user argued, while another claimed, 'Bags like that are charged by the bags'.
This confusion was echoed by many, as a lot of shoppers assume grapes are sold by the bag rather than by kilo.
Can you actually do this?
While Woolworths didn't want to weigh in on the discussion when approached for comment (pun intended), grapes are generally priced by the kilo at most supermarkets.
This means that as long as the grapes are clearly marked as being sold by weight, for example, '$5/kilo', you are free to take as many or as few as you like, place them in a produce bag, and have them weighed individually at the checkout – but make sure to always check the price tag before trying this!
'Annoying'
Despite acknowledging it was legal, some commenters pointed out that it's still 'annoying' for other customers and supermarkets do prefer to sell them by the bag.
'This is why they've started securing the bags,' wrote one, referencing the increasing use of tamper-proof packaging in some supermarkets.
Then another noted that someone might pick up a full bag of grapes, expecting them to be the full weight advertised, and not realise some grapes have been taken out.
'I don't know about this one … legal yes, but annoying for the next person?' they said.
Commenters support the idea
However, many people have embraced the grape bag hack with open arms.
'Haha I do this all the time, and other shoppers look at me like I'm insane but I give them a little wave and a sideways dance,' said one fan of the technique.
Another chimed in, 'You've just changed my life,' while others joked, 'Everyone does this – do people actually take the full bag?'
Why this matters for your weekly shop
Beyond just saving a few dollars, it's clear that this hack is a great way to cut down on food waste.
As a sector, Australian households waste the most food – with an average of 2.5 million tonnes of food wasted annually.
This translates to roughly four kilos per household per week and up to $2500.
The ability to buy only the amount of grapes you need means less food waste and fewer soggy, forgotten grapes at the bottom of your fridge. Win, win!