America's most EXPENSIVE grocery store 

For a store trying to sell itself as “sustainable”, I see lots and lots of plastic. Even the “carbon neutral” water from New Zealand has a plastic sticker glued to the bottle. Smells like greenwashing in it’s purest form to me.

The fact this store is thriving is really troubling.

Only Americans can fall for this scam. I'm gonna tell my Italian grandma she can sell her homemade tomato sauce for $40 now!

My nephew shops here and I used to eat a meal for 15 cents from a hole in the wall in rural Pakistan. What a difference a generation makes!

Little secret as someone who used to work at Trader Joe’. Hole foods, TJs and this place in the video get most of their products from the same supplier just rebranded. Things like eggs, mild, oils, etc are all the same. We would get sent cases of these products with the wrong label. Like a egg case with the 365 hole foods labels on them. Just shop at Trader Joe’s much cheeper and literally the exact same food just labeled and branded a little different.

Reminds me of the time when I was charged $20 dollars for a cold egg sandwich and a small bottled water by Starbucks at the airport. I still remember it 8 years later.

3:05 That is false, markups at grocery stores are not 1-3%. That is the margins after expenses like labour, rent, spoilage and utilities etc. They markup things for around 20%.

Erewhons are usually located in or near high income areas of LA such as Pacific Palisades, Santa Monica, Calabasis, etc... and are popular with celebrities. People shopping there have so much money (or credit card debt trying to keep up with The Khardashians) they don't even look at the prices when buying things and barely even hear or care about the total when getting rung up.... I remember stopping in there for something from the hot food bar once and the lady in front of me had a sandwich, one of their pre made salads, two big bottles of filtered sping water and some gourmet organic Terra potato chips that were double the price they should be. Her total was almost $100! I was shocked for her. She just swiped her AMEX black card (one of the very few times I've seen one) and casually strolled out like it was nothing. Dean & Deluca and Citarella are the Erewhons of NYC. Same for Plum Market and Foxtot Market in Chicago where everything has "gourmet" prices.... The wealthy and celebs are truly living on a different planet. But still... $100 for a few items even if you're rich seems foolish.

One would hope that those prices go toward actually supporting local small farmers and paying employees well. It would have been great if you could have talked about that. The revolutionary thing about Whole Foods in its early years was that those really high prices helped fund local farms, and employees were paid very well.

They give 20% off for employees cause they know the employees Still won’t buy anything. At those prices, it’s a totally Useless Store. Useless

I'd pay 7.50 for a bottle to save my life from dehydration. But if they slap 'Carbon neutral from 15.000 miles away' on the label. There's no reason to drink anymore because why live in a world like that?

Atleast from where I'm speaking these prices look average in Finland. When I am sent to the grocery store near our house I can be spending upwards of €40 on only 4 or 5 items. I'll list the average price of some groceries here in Finland. Milk - €4.99 Eggs - €9.99 Spinach - €11.99 Strawberries - €21.99 / Kilo Chips - €5.99

I know a Chinese owned grocery store here in Toronto doing almost the same prices

They should give their employees 50% off. Even with the 20% discount the price is still outrage

Even if i had the money i wouldn’t shop here rather support local independent shops who charge slightly more than supermarkets

I prefer buying directly from local farmers.

America: Our ghee costs $50 Indian Households: How does $2 sound?

Wow I thought Hawaii was bad because of the Jones Act which doesn’t allow ships from Asia to doc in our ports and things have to be shipped back to our side once the goods from Asia hit the West coast!

Did you ask the lady who checked you out how often she uses her "employee discount" out there? I bet she goes out for the nearest taco truck for lunch instead of grabbing a "discounted" item a few feet away from where she stands.

The most expensive grocery stores in Norway is most populated, because those stores is superior to the cheaper ones. You get higher quality non processed food at expensive stores.

How can shipping water from NZ to the USA be carbon neutral??

This store usually caters to Hollywood types. And gets a lot of tourist trade in the Venice location. It is pretty expensive. I usually just go in to pee.

I absolutely LOVE this store!

LA you said? I understand I totally get it

I gagged at hearing the prices. Where do the regulars at this store get their money from? I work a good job and make good money, and I would struggle to shop here.

What’s that store’s gross margin versus other grocery stores?

I thought Whole Foods (when they were outside of London, England) and Holland and Barretts were a little bit on the steep side. But at least those places doesn't force you to get a loan to be able to get your weekly shop.

You can get organic products for a lot less plus the store has items found in other stores for cheaper price.

Usd36 = RM158 in Malaysia where you can buy a cart full of daily groceries item, you just come to Malaysia and test it

Well it’s the same for people, who willingly spend 185 usd or even more for a steak 🥩 at salt bae‘s restaurant for example. 😅

I'd like you to visit the farmer supplying the eggs and finding out what they charge the market.

Imagine buying beef for a BBQ at this grocery store.

Definitely not the most expensive. Same price or cheaper than my local grocery store in San Francisco (Pacific Heights). $4 Avocados, $22/lbs for deli turkey, $10 loafs of bread, $5 Kombucha, $15 for a dozen eggs. Plus it's always packed with long lines. Then again, a teardown fixer upper house goes for like $4M.

It's interesting to see something connected to macrobiotics getting a spotlight, but I didn't expect it would go like this.

It's the inner satisfaction that yes i can afford this

This feels like a grocery store in Norway.

the guy that said 'its worth it' has to be a paid actor. there is no way I just heard that

Hey if people are willing to pay those prices then more power to them. As long as the profits go to paying a good wage to everyone involved and ensuring that the quality of the product is top notch there isn't really anything to complain about. I have more of a problem with hard discount stores that sell crap and pay there staff peanuts. I mean it's important to have stores that cater to people on a budget but if the system of stores like Aldi becomes to norm it creates a downward spiral were everybody involved is dragged down. As consumers I think it's important to go for the "buy less but go for the best quality you can afford" mentality. I truly think that in that way you can not only improve your own quality of life but also the lives of the people who produce the things you buy.

How were the eggs? Was it worth it? Are they super-tasty and red-yolky? 🧡

Makes Gelsons look like a thrift store.

Now you understand what people feel in extreme high inflation countries such as Venezuela,Lebanon, Argentina, Turkey… This is their daily life:(

It’s both a scam and good business.

It’s not that special… I work at Whole Foods part-time since I’m in school full time. I get 20% for my discount too, which isn’t a lot, and I don’t see the 10% as being much. Its ok working here and I love my team. Most of my coworkers don’t even use their employee discount because it’s expensive to shop here. Ask anyone, they just work here and get their food somewhere else. But we do LOVE when things are close to the spoilage date! It’s all a greenwashing scam. Sure, you may be helping Lily in that province sell her sustainable slippers. That this colossal conglomerate corporation took her photo, flew the product here, and branded her slippers as sustainable/ eco friendly and pays her like 10 cents but charges you $45 but don’t worry, they’re on sale today for $2 off. Then the company markets everything as GREEN. There’s some honesty in having the idea of being better for the environment. But in reality, it’s just a scam for unnecessary products to make the customer THINK they’re making good life choices. Haven’t you noticed the type of people that shop at these stores? They claim to be the most free-spirited, liberal, and open-minded. But they are the most pretentious, materialistic, and entitled people out there. It’s funny to me when I see peeled bananas or oranges in a plastic containers being sold for $15…. Like, really. You can’t peel a banana by yourself? 😅 I get it, ready to eat. But the orange is practically in its own container itself. 😅 I like going to Grocery Outlet and Trader Joe’s has the same stuff but lower price. But luckily, I have chickens at home. So in the worst case scenario, I can barter with my neighbors which I do already anyways.

Hi Uptin, you think that is expensive come to Grand Cayman, we have supermarkets where the price of some goods are just as expensive or more!!!

That would be what you spend in a normal grocery store in Switzerland ahah

Organic should = cheaper right?

Hello, how much is that lemonade over there? Oh its gourmet vegan gold lemon halal organic lemonade, made with silver water from Vanuatu, and made in Bulgaria. Its 34 bucks.

Thought you were in anchorage

I am curious as to what the ready-to-eat items at the food bar cost.

Those prices just seem insane, why not go to a farmers market or akin then?

They should have a store in 432 Park avenue

As a Californio / Californian not gonna lie this seems normal. California, Dubai, and Monaco are in a whole new league 😂 Can’t complain when all your high school amigos are going to UC and Cal states to work in Silicon Valley in SF or Silicon Beach in LA. Teslas and Lambos for days in California with lots of college grads 🚀🚀🚀

People feel like they are getting better quality if they pay more for something. Often times, companies take advantage of these people who don't have a general sense of what an item is suppose to cost and mark it up 50-70% and just call it organic. 😂 It's usually those who make a six figure income and don't really realize the price hikes since they feel like they are getting ahead and can afford it. You're basically paying for the brand and what they supposedly stand for. The food at Whole Foods is probably better and 40% cheaper.

(1:30) Interesting, there is a market for organic fast food.

You might want to view a video on New Zealand water.

Krusty Krab in real life.

I remember when it was only one store and affordable. I no longer shope there,

it’s the same reason people buy Ferrari. they just drive around town and would be fine with a Honda civic but they need to show how successful they are and get the admiration of other people. Paying $16 for bone broth is just a variant of this

This is basically Safeway in San Francisco.

Great video

Tinx loves this place, that should tell you everything you need to know about her.

The subtitles had the right number of ‘yadas’.

When you overpay for movies and popcorn, sports tickets, get your rent doubled, that's where your money is going...

7$ for organic water..sounds like a steal 😬

HAHAHAHHAHAA all the prices it is exactly what we pay here in Brazil

Hell no. 7 dollars for a mineral water? IDC where ITS from. It can from hell IM still not buying it.

Maybe it is the novelty attracts people? I would give it a try.

$7 for water? I wonder how much a 40 pack cost. $150-200?

lol here i am clipping coupon trying to save money😮

I live in panama. We have riba Smith and the prices are similar

Its a store for rich people who don't want to shop among the peasants. There is a fish store in Venice that's super pricey too. My friend his girlfriend buys fish there because Costco fish is for peasants.

Dumpster diving heaven

As long as people continue to shop there, I'll know that the economy is doing great, and everyone has everything they need.

Y’all forgot about Alaska

Ladies will believe it, in China we also see some fruit shop , this brand fruit will double or triple of others,saying their fruit are healthier and better taste. The result is not stable , sometimes taste good, sometimes bad. For the healthier, who knows.

Those are like NZ prices

If there’s a market and the store can survive, there is no problem. I won’t shop there ever and if people getting scammed can afford it I guess it doesn’t matter.

in my country fresh foods are way cheaper, but i guess thats one thing about living in a developing country haha

a mixture of both, the bottle of water priced at that isnt uncommon specially for water snobs(im a water snob but not to that degree), real maple syrup is fucking expensive in america and that was a huge bottle so i dont think it was too far off......the eggs though thats fucking crazy

12 dollars for a dozen eggs is unbelievable

I’m Australian; that’s a bargain supermarket.

You can literally buy that carbone tomato sauce at stop and shop for half price. 🤣 🤣 🤣 🤣 Even that is over priced. You can get it even cheaper if you buy in bulk. That's like price gouging x5

So everybody who knows LA knows that Erwehon blows whole foods Bristol farms & Gelsons out of the water when it comes to prices. Unfortunately, its 1 of the only few who carry my vitamins . And thats marked up also. Its a see & be seen place for people getting hot food or smoothies. Once bananas were 10 dollars - isnt that well ______ bananas lol

Reminds me of the japanese store donki in my country

This is a celebrity store of course not for everyone. 😆😂🤣

Whole Food , Check out Edgewater NJ

DO THEY HAVE CHEETOS?

I hope they threw that bottle of water in the pacific there in New Zealand and it floated all the way to LA to be "Carbon Neutral"

Those are normal prices in Canada 😔

I do not know if the goat milk is organic. I did not witness the goat being milked. The NZ WATER probably comes from the tap.

Not expensive vs department store supermarkets in Seoul

In turkey, only the eggs is 40 turkish liras.

My ghee comes from a farm source and is shipped to me for under 10 bucks. 50 bucks, come on man

Holy shizz and I thought sprouts was expensive lol

Definitely Mark up prices

You can a tually get similar products in Asia for 10 times cheaper Just presentation and wise wording

The Indian in me died when he said gee for ghee...

Everything organic in Europe would be like 6 dollars for the 3 items

If you're buying expensive water from New Zealand, thinking that you're helping the world, guess again you're expanding your carbon footprint. But great channel, you're going to blow up within 1.5 months

That's flat out ridiculous 🤦‍♂️😮