Costco loyalists are known to rave about everything from the food court (with its decades-enduring $1.50 hot dog deal) to the chain's line of exclusive, high-quality Kirkland Signature brand grocery products and even cheap booze. So when the company makes a change, people are sure to notice. And in the case of a revamped bakery item, it goes without saying that the change is not being embraced by customers.
As such, one Costco shopper put the big box retailer on blast in a Reddit post this week after noticing a sign at a location in Southern California that stated that the $9.99 six-packs of "mix and match" muffins were being replaced by single-flavor eight-packs for $6.99. Now, it doesn't take a mathematician to calculate that the new muffins are decidedly more expensive.
posted up today in socal.
by u/Background_Ice4182 in Costco
Yet, one user broke it down, calculating that the old muffins were $4.99 for a 35-ounce six-pack and that the new muffins are $6.99 for a 31-ounce eight-pack, meaning that the new ones are 58 percent more expensive. On top of everything else, the new muffins are also smaller, with another user estimating them to be about 70 percent of the size of the old ones.
To add insult to injury, the recipe has also apparently changed. And although some users floated the theory that they're now made with better ingredients, such as real butter instead of vegetable oil, the general consensus is that the old muffins were a far superior product.
"One of my best friends is a baker at Costco and she’s told me she’s preparing for lots of angry customers," wrote one user. "The recipes are going to be completely different, it’s not just the size change." Another user chimed in that they were "promised" by the bakery staff that the new muffins were a better product, succinctly adding: "I disagree."
"The new chocolate muffins are TRASH," seethed another customer. "We got them to have for a 'fun' breakfast for our kids and our entire kitchen floor was covered in chocolate muffin crumbs. They are super dry and crumbly. RIP to the most amazing chocolate muffin."
"These are so much worse," lamented yet another shopper. "They’re much drier, less flavor, just bland and crumbly. I’m shocked they changed muffins up it since it’s something they’re pretty well known for. Won’t be buying these again."
It seems unlikely that Costco will lose customers over muffins alone, but with membership fees on the rise for the first time in seven years, it might be enough to scare away some budget-minded shoppers.
