Everything is, or at least feels, more expensive with prices on the rise, and one concerned traveler at the international airport in Phoenix, Arizona, gave the internet quite a shock with a photo of candy bars. Shared by BananaBread4Brkfst on r/mildlyinfuriating, the image was a shelf of Reese’s, Snickers, Twix, and other popular chocolate bars priced at $7.29 each. Needless to say, several hundred Reddit users weren’t too pleased to see this.
While BananaBread4Brkfst didn’t add any extra details beyond sharing the post, plenty of users in the comments had much to say. “Candy bars aren’t even worth it anymore. They taste like chalk and cost at least $3 all while shrinking in size by 50%,” sighed a Redditor. “They don’t even use real chocolate anymore,” added another.
While the discussion over products’ “shrinkflation” has been going on for years, the comments about these candy brands not using real chocolate are a very real issue. According to CNBC, chocolate is becoming a “luxury” of sorts, due to the costs and continuous demand, so companies are having to make ‘chocolate-flavored products.’ In the past, things were drastically different, as one older Redditor put it, “$0.50 was enough for a standard size candy bar” back during their childhood.
Another person pointed out how, in their local area, very few are allegedly buying these costly candies anymore. “Nobody is buying them with such high prices, they let them expire instead of selling them…” the user wrote.
Some Users Put the Blame on the Trump Administration
A few Redditors were quick to blame these prices on the government, especially given how gas prices have been increasing across the country. “$5+ for a gallon of gas, $7 for a candy bar……welcome to Trump’s America. You got what you voted for,” said a commenter. “We have fallen so far from grace,” a user exclaimed in response.
There’s plenty of debate to be had on whether a candy bar is worth one price or another. However, one thoughtful user made a solid point: the actual question should be whether someone is hungry enough to spend $7.29. Often, people pay more not because the product is worth more per se, but because of convenience, especially at airports.
