A single strawberry selling for $19 leaves TikTok mystified. ‘This is so dystopian’

A single strawberry has been put on the shelves of a California grocery store with a whopping price tag, and TikTokers are calling it “embarrassing.”

Erewhon, an upscale grocery store with 10 locations scattered throughout Los Angeles County, has done it again.

Known for high-priced smoothies in collaboration with celebrities like Sabrina Carpenter and Hailey Bieber, the grocery store is now going viral on TikTok for selling a single strawberry for $18.99.

McClatchy News reached out to Erewhon on Feb. 24 for a comment and was awaiting a response.

The strawberry, imported from Kyoto, Japan, comes equipped with a holding tray and clear dome cover, according to a Feb. 23 TikTok posted by @Alyssaantocii.

“Apparently it’s like the best tasting strawberry in the entire world,” the TikToker can be heard saying in the video that’s been seen over 11.6 million times as of Feb. 24.

The TikToker proceeds to try the big-budget fruit before deeming it the “best strawberry,” according to the video.

“I need to eat every last bit of it,” she says in the video.

As for how TikTok handled the news of a single fruit costing more than what some make with minimum wage?

Some users said they believe “America is the biggest scam,” with one person saying, “This is so dystopian.”

“Ya’ll give wrong people money,” another wrote.

The user’s viral review sparked parodies across the app with user @Nathanwituk poking fun at the original poster in a Feb. 23 video.

“You know me and how I love my fresh fruits from Kyoto,” the user can be heard saying while tapping on a glass cup that’s covering a strawberry sitting on top of a bowl upside down, mimicking Erewhon’s presentation.

The user goes on to jokingly call the berry “life-changing” in the video that’s been seen over 413,000 times as of Feb. 24.

Others joined in on the sarcasm with one person saying, “What a steal.”

“Only $19?” another wrote.

TikToker @Michelleangelova in a Feb. 23 TikTok called the strawberry “so juicy.”

“I wish I could tell you guys I didn’t like it, but I do like it,” the TikToker can be heard saying in the video. “I just don’t think it’s worth the money.”

“People will buy anything,” one person wrote.

Some went as far to say this must be a “social experiment” put on by Erewhon.

“Who else thinks Erewhon is a social experiment to see what some people will spend on?” someone said.

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

As for the overall feelings toward the costly fruit, one user summed it up by saying they’d “rather save” their “money and fly to Japan.”

This story was originally published February 24, 2025 at 2:18 PM with the headline "A single strawberry selling for $19 leaves TikTok mystified. ‘This is so dystopian’."