Single strawberry sells for $19.99 at grocery store: 'Still cheaper than eggs'

Fox News

17-03-2025

An organic grocery store on the West Coast is known for selling expensive food items.
Recently, the Los Angeles-area grocery chain, Erewhon, went viral for its newest pricey offering: a single strawberry for $19.99.
Each Elly Amai strawberry is shipped from Kyoto, Japan, and is handpicked to have the "perfect" appearance before it's packaged in its own case.
Erewhon confirmed with Fox News Digital that the strawberries are picked in "their prime" and then hit store shelves within 24 to 48 hours, according to a spokesperson.
"These strawberries are organic, which account for .002% of Japan's production," the spokesperson said.
They are "not sour or tart," since high-quality strawberries in Japan are "preferred to not have any sour or tart flavors."
Californians took to TikTok to document their experience trying the single-serving snack, including an Orange County food influencer and content creator known as "Lily" (@ocfeed).
"I couldn't stop thinking about how many hours of my life I'd have to work to eat this singular strawberry, but hey, look how cute it is," Lily said in her video.
Each strawberry is cultivated in Kyoto for seven years to "have perfect symmetry, brilliant color and exceptional size," Lily said.
Lily described the smell of the strawberry as "incredibly fragrant" before confirming it tasted good, too.
"It is, in fact, an exceptional strawberry, and I'd go so far as to say it's perfect," she said. "Like, put it in the dictionary as the definition."
She added, "It's particularly sweet and floral, peak ripeness, everything."
Speaking with Fox News Digital, Lily said she understands it's a "ridiculous price to pay, but once for the experience, it's fun!"
Influencer Lauren Godwin, who has nearly 23 million followers on TikTok (@laurengodwin), also posted about her experience of trying the strawberry.
"Not going to lie," she said. "1,000 out of 10."
TikTok users had more to say about the price of one strawberry.
"Good lord. It's a friggin' strawberry," @thebutternutty commented beneath Lily's video. "I'll get one locally and fresh picked in season for pennies."
"Still cheaper than eggs," @alfieee467 chimed in.
TikToker @aatorak wrote, "I'm convinced this is a social experiment."
Underneath Godwin's video, others also considered the buy a "social experiment," slamming consumers for giving into the hype.
"I would literally rather book a flight to Japan and pick it myself," user Emma G wrote.
Erewhon confirmed that the cost of the strawberry is the same price as it would be in Japan – or even less.
"The Japanese Yen is at an all-time low, and we're getting lower rates for introducing new markets to farmers," the spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
"The air freight costs just as much as the fruits. Elly Amai is flying them in due to the short length of peak ripeness. Strawberry season is only from December to June."
For the best eating experience, Erewhon suggests not touching the strawberry with your bare hands unless you plan to eat it within three to four hours.
"Strawberries are very fragile and need to be handled with care," the spokesperson said.
"It's best to let them breathe at room temp for 15 to 30 minutes to bring out the aroma and sweetness."