A luxury grocery store frequented by Hollywood A-listers has been mercilessly mocked by social media users for charging ludicrous prices.
TikTok and Instagram have been swamped with content about Erewhon since big-name celebrities were spotted doing grocery shopping at the local hangout.
The high-end health store boasts collaborative smoothie creations with Bella Hadid and Gisele Bündchen and is known for its unique recipes. It is also known as one of the priciest stores in the US.
Situated in celebrity hot spots like West Hollywood and Beverly Hills, the chain claims all its products are sustainably sourced, GMO-free and support animal welfare.
Shoppers can end up spending $20 (£15) on raw milk and $40 (£31) on hot sauce, with a bottle of “oxygenated” water retailing at an eye-watering $26 (£20).
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Leonardo DiCaprio, Cara Delevigne, and Brooklyn Beckham are just some of the celebrities who have increased the buzz around the name Erewhon.
Despite its LA identity, the original store opened its door in Boston in 1966, offering a modest supply of whole wheat and barely enough grains to show on its shelves.
The store was unveiled by Japanese immigrants Michio and Aveline Kushi to focus on macronutrients.
They named the store Eyewhon in a nod to the idyllic fictional community in Samuel Butler’s literary work and because it creatively echoed the term ‘nowhere’ when read backwards.
Aveline later brought the concept store to the West Coast. After a string of various ownership transitions, Tony and Josephine Antoci eventually took over the original L.A. shop in 2011.
Its ascent to fame was notably marked during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic when restrictions put supermarkets among the few destinations available to the public for outings.
Today, Erewhon fanatics can commit to two tiers of memberships at $100 or $200 (£78.89 or £157.58) per year, giving them discounts on select products and one free smoothie of the month for the first two weeks.
Social media users have flocked to TikTok in recent years to flag the store’s exorbitant prices for staple items.
Content creator @brannaxrenee gave her frank opinion in a clip where she sampled Kourtney Kardashian’s collaborative Poosh Potion Detox Smoothie, costing her $24 (£19).
“That wayyyy too much for a smoothie,” one viewer barked in the comments, while another asked the poster: “$24… was it worth it tho?!” (sic)
The TikToker replied: “It was good… but not $24 good.”
