10 Groceries Shoppers Say They're Cutting Out First as Prices Keep Climbing
While President Trump issued a 90-day pause on tariffs for countries other than China, consumers still worry about an incoming price hike on everyday goods like groceries. Shoppers are taking a hard look at their grocery lists to see if there are any places they can make cuts to help create some wiggle room in their monthly household budget. Such a move could involve assessing whether a grocery item is a true valuable staple or if it's simply overrated and not worth the added cost.
When asked, shoppers will not shy away from sharing which grocery items they think are overrated or just pure hype. Some of the groceries in this roundup are indeed fad items that have seemed to infiltrate everyone's grocery list. In contrast, others are classic staples that have become overrated due to increases in price or a perceived decrease in quality or flavor over the years.
Whether you're looking to consume less and save money at the grocery store or be more mindful of what you're bringing home to your pantry, these items perplex shoppers, either in how popular they've become or how much people are willing to pay for them.
Steak
A steak dinner cooked to perfection is hard to beat if you're a meat-eater. But cost has driven most cuts of steak to the point of being overrated and not worth the repeated investment, as one Redditor describes: "I can appreciate a good steak, but they're always among the most expensive dinner options (even if you cook it at home), and if it's not cooked exactly to your liking it's not NEARLY as good as you wanted."
Many shoppers called out Prime Rib as a specific cut of meat that they see as overrated. One Reddit user repeatedly gave Prime Rib a chance, saying, "I've tried hard to like it. But each time I've had it (yes, at reputable steakhouses) I've found it bland, flavourless and too full of nasty gristle." Another Redditor agreed that the price for what is often considered a premium cut of steak is vastly overrated. The added, "Prime rib is gross to me. For what it's worth, I love a good medium rare ribeye or filet. But prime rib, on the other hand, is just flesh."
Avocados
Avocado's surge in popularity in recent years has led to its proliferation on restaurant menus and ingredient lists. While many shoppers agree that avocado can be a tasty and useful grocery item, its popularity has gotten out of hand. One shopper shared on Reddit, "I don't even dislike it, it's just not as amazing as everyone thinks. It's great when it complements a dish, but it's boring af on toast. It's just avocado, it doesn't make you cool."
Another shopper highlighted avocados as being overrated due to their impact on the environment. They added on Reddit that while avocados are tasty, "the effort of growing, the amount of water it needs, and the total CO2 emissions avocados create make it totally not worth it."
Cereal
Cereal is a quintessential breakfast food for countless families, but price hikes and exposés surrounding cereal's sugar content have made many question whether it's worth the cost. One grocery shopper thinks the frequent buying of cereal is overrated now, saying that cereal is "super expensive and mostly just sugar. Now I buy one box a month when the kind I like goes on sale, then I eat it as dessert."
A parent agreed that cereal is now an overrated food item, thanks to the lack of nutrients and affordability. "I took rising cereal prices as the final nail in the coffin of me considering it a decent breakfast option for my kids," they shared on Reddit. Cereal isn't exactly a health food. It's a refined carb and sugar bomb."
Bacon
If you feel bacon has found its way into every possible sandwich and breakfast plate, you're not alone. Bacon is seen as an overrated grocery item that some enjoy but don't understand the popularity, while others scratch their heads at how anyone can enjoy the food.
One Redditor shared, "It's crazy how much hype bacon gets! You say "no thanks" to it and suddenly you're an insane outlier!" Another Reddit user doubled down on how they can't stand bacon, adding, "The texture is awful, you either have it barely done and soft so it feels like something slimy is in my mouth or crispy and hard and adds a burnt note to the over all flavor which I also don't like. Add that to the fact that people put it on everything nowadays. It's truly terrible." Another shopper simply observed, "I don't get the obsession."
Lobster
Among all of the seafood options you can find at the grocery store, lobster is consistently one of the priciest. For some shoppers, the price of lobster is well worth it, while others wonder how anyone could spend so much on a food. One shopper likens lobster to "just sweet rubber" on Reddit, while another shared, "I personally can't stand the smell or taste of lobster. It's all rubbery salty bottom feeding ocean soup."
Truffle Oil
If you enter any modern restaurant, you'll find Truffle French Fries on the menu. The rise in popularity of Truffle Oil in everything from pastas to hamburgers has led to the oil also appearing in grocery stores in higher quantities, which leaves many shoppers puzzled. For some, it's not that truffle oil is bad, but its popularity has gotten out of hand and we've treaded into the territory of "too much of a good thing."
"Don't get me wrong, I like truffles," one Redditor shares. "But nowadays the truffle oil market is so saturated and seemingly every roadside burger joint and modern chain restaurant has truffle fries, and it's almost never good." Burger joints aren't the only ones guilty of going a little too truffle-happy, as another Redditor describes. "Every mushroom pizza has it now. Just give me a nice mix of yummy mushrooms and some bomb cheese and leave the oil at home."
Sriracha
In the world of hot sauces, sriracha might garner the highest levels of skepticism over its popularity. Many shoppers called sriracha out as being overrated, with one pondering on Reddit, "It's fine. It's an alright sauce. Wearing t-shirts, now? Putting it in and on everything? It's not THAT good. I don't get the fuss." Another shopper agreed, adding, "I love sriracha, but I feel like this was part of a wider phenomenon where people insisted on drenching everything in hot sauce in general."
Ketchup
Arguably one of the most popular condiments in the United States, ketchup has just as passionate an audience that says the sauce is downright overrated. Talk to ketchup megafans and they'll say they use it for practically everything, but skeptics claim there are better options out there. One shopper posted their thoughts on Reddit, sharing, "It's too sweet for me most of the time. I see people eat all kinds of [things] with ketchup, and I just don't get it. Different strokes, I guess!" Another Redditor shared, "I haven't owned or used ketchup in like 10 years. I'd rather use barbecue sauce."
Kale
Even healthy foods like kale can be overrated in the eyes of grocery shoppers. Many believe that so-called kale fans are misleading regarding the food's flavor in all of its. One Redditor shared, "I had a kale smoothie and it tasted like lawn clippings." Another Reddit user offers a counterpoint: "Kale chips are amazing—cut it up in wide squares, drizzle olive oil & salt on it & cook it in the oven for 15 minutes @ 350 degrees. Tastes like popcorn!!"
No matter your stance on the flavor of kale, most shoppers seem to agree that the food has become overrated due to a recent rise in popularity. One shopper posted on Reddit, "Kale was commonly just a garnish, but someone was like 'SUPER FOOD,' and now we got skinny girls all trying to eat kale."
Chips
Consumers are calling out packaged potato chips for both a noticeable change in quality and an even more noticeable change in value. One Redditor recognized both the cost and taste as an issue, sharing, "Doritos started to taste different to me. I honestly laugh when I see they are $2.50 at the end of a checkout aisle when the bag used to be 99 cents." Another shopper agreed that the chips are now overrated based on cost, adding, "I am priced out of the chip market."
Other shoppers simply see chips as overrated due to the lack of nutritional value. As one Redditor explains, "I'm not paying that much for something that's so bad for me. I swear they doubled in price." Overall, chips seem to have become overrated, mostly by the perceived dip in value due to a long-term cost increase. "Bringing chips to a party used to be the cheap thing to do," another Redditor shared.
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