Earlier this spring, Costco made a huge change to the packaging of a cult-favorite meals product, and now longtime followers are noticing — and complaining — concerning the swap.
Costco bought an estimated 137 million rotisserie chickens in 2023 whereas nonetheless sustaining a worth of $4.99, regardless of inflation and rising manufacturing prices. However the firm started altering the packaging in March, from its signature exhausting shell container to a transparent bag, a transfer that is been slowly rolled out into extra tales and inflicting a viral frenzy amongst loyal buyers.
“Expensive Costco,” one fan penned on X. “Your new rotisserie hen luggage and the hen inside them is nowhere close to what they was.”
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“New recession warning simply dropped: Costco goes low cost on their rotisserie hen container,” one other stated. “Brace yourselves.”
On Reddit, one consumer posted that the brand new luggage had leaked upon switch residence, which opened the door to a slew of comparable tales.
Rooster juice spilled all around the trunk of our automobile
byu/Bozerks inCostco
“I lately grabbed two chickens within the bag for the primary time. Hated every little thing about it,” one individual wrote on the thread. “The baggage have been slick with juice on the show (we needed to anticipate them, so it was from the employees simply prepping them), so my arms have been then lined in grease with no paper towels wherever.”
“Talked to an worker about this. They’re spilling in peoples’ carts and on the checkout counters all day lengthy,” one other alleged. “The workers all hate the brand new luggage and there may be hope that Costco will discover a strategy to tackle the problem.”
Costco reportedly swapped the packaging in an try to chop again on plastic waste — the brand new luggage will use 75% much less plastic than the exhausting shell containers and save an estimated 17 million kilos for resin annually, per an indication considered by Packaging Dive.
Costco didn’t instantly repsond to Entrepreneur’s request for remark.
The warehouse chain most lately reported its fiscal Q3 2024 earnings with internet gross sales reaching $57.39 billion, a 9.1% improve in internet gross sales from the identical time final 12 months.
CEO Ron Vachris credited the quarterly success to its Wagyu beef choices, gold bars, and a $1,200 swingset that is been flying off cabinets.
Costco EVP and CFO Gary Millerchip additionally famous on the decision that due to the corporate’s constant success, there is no plan as of now to vary the price of its well-known $1.50 scorching canine combo deal or improve membership charges.
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“We really feel actually good about membership renewal charges,” Millerchip stated on the decision. “We take a look at what’s occurred within the market over the previous couple of years and once we have been seeing excessive inflation and the danger and concern round recession … we’re nonetheless evaluating these issues to find out what the best timing is and once we attain that time the place we really feel it’s the proper time, in fact, we’ll be very open and direct and speaking that.”
Costco was up over 67% 12 months over 12 months as of Monday afternoon.
