Many of us are more than happy to pay a premium for a good product – even if, deep down, we know our bank balance is screaming at us as we do so.
That reckless approach is all too apparent when it comes to the supermarket, when we find that various treats somehow end up in our basket.
Whether it’s a nice bottle of rosé costing double the other options, a box of posh chocolates we don’t need or a fancy pasta shape that’s decidedly more exciting than your usual penne, we’re all suckers for a bit of good marketing.
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And even the basics can be subject to the same treatment, as one woman in America found out when she tracked the price of butter in her local shop over the course of several years.
Admittedly, it was Kerrygold – a famed Irish butter brand that has been sold in the US since the late 1990s.
But it’s hardly the niche product you’d only find at farmer’s markets; last May, it was named the number two branded butter in the US, meaning it’s a popular staple of people's shopping trolleys.
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Posting a photo from 2017 on Twitter recently, Caitlin Francis wrote: “This is a pic from Jan 2017. Today I paid $15.69 for it. I like don’t even know what to do with this information.”
She added: “Also pretty sure we weren’t even buying it in 2017 cause it was too expensive for us. So shout out to my hardcore husband for making the kind of living that allows us to buy $16 butter.”
The picture showed that, in 2017, the butter was being sold in three-packs of 8oz blocks (the equivalent of around 681g) for $7.69 (£6.19), but by 2025 it had risen to $15.69 (£12.62).
For context, a 250g block of Kerrygold is being sold in supermarkets like Tesco and Asda for £2.60 a pop.
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Francis went on: “Guys you’re starting to miss the point. This is not about where it’s cheaper or how I should switch brands it was simply a shocking literal picture of how much prices have gone up in just 8 years.”
She also explained that this had been at her local Costco - a supermarket famed for offering competitive prices by selling items in bulk.
Someone else said: “We are at $17.19 for Kerrygold.”
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When one person called on Francis to ‘just buy different butter’ as they saw this as a ‘luxury product’, she said it was ‘not the point’.
Another asked: “Is there something special about that brand? Why Irish butter? You could move to Iowa. Land-O-Lakes butter is listed as 5.98usd/lb at the Fareway.”
Francis replied: “Grass fed and clean. I can get other butter for cheaper without moving that’s not the point.”
One other commented: “I cannot get over the fact that people in America will pay $15 for Kerrygold butter. Is American butter really that bad? We’re blessed in Ireland that normal butter is such high quality."
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Someone based in the US then responded: “Yup I think it’s that bad! We pay really high prices for quality butter. You not only taste the difference but visually can as well.”
LADbible Group has reached out to Ornua, which makes Kerrygold, and Costco for comment.
Topics: Food and Drink, US News
Jess Hardiman