I tried the viral $20 strawberry. It tasted like the end of the American empire

A single strawberry flown in from Japan is selling for $20 in a hip LA grocery store. Does it symbolize the worst of American excess, or is it simply delicious?

In Los Angeles, a strawberry – yes, one individual berry – is selling for $19.99. The berries are flown in from Japan, and Erewhon, a luxury grocery store, claims they’re so popular it’s hard to keep them in stock.

The $20 strawberry, which has been labeled “dystopian” and a “social experiment”, went viral after a TikTok influencer filmed herself eating it and saying “wow”. That video – produced by an influencer who happens to be part of the family that owns Erewhon– quickly sparked a slew of copycats: from earnest reviews to parodies and pranks and even an on-camera taste test by ABC news anchors. In one TikTok video, a comedian in a blond wig eats the strawberry while crooning to the “poors” watching his video: “This is something you could never afford … I’m going to taste it for you since you never will.”

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