A TikTok creator used Too Good To Go, an app where restaurants and grocers sell surplus or near-expiration food at a discount, to find out whether a $6.99 Whole Foods mystery bag was actually an effective way to help lower grocery bills.
Here's what to know
In a TikTok video, an influencer who goes by Lauren (@budgetbylauren) explained that, in total, she paid $13.98 for the two Whole Foods mystery bags. After reviewing the haul, she gave her verdict.
@budgetbylauren Too Good to Go is an app that partners with restaurants/grocers to sell excess or close to expired foods at a discount. Updated: each bag was $6.99 before tax so BOTH bags easily reached their expected value. #toogoodtogo #wholefoods #groceries #foodwaste @Too Good To Go ♬ original sound - Lauren| Budget| Family| Food
"BOTH bags easily reached their expected value," she wrote in the video's caption.
Ordered through the service Too Good To Go, one of the bags contained produce while the other consisted solely of dry, shelf-stable goods.
In the fresh items bag, Lauren found mushrooms and green beans, along with spring mix, pico de gallo, pineapple mango salsa, cheese, salsa verde, and organic yellow onions.
While admitting "I don't like mushrooms," the influencer said the rest of the haul still seemed usable for several meals or side dishes.
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While the second bag looked a bit more lightly loaded, it contained higher-priced pantry staples: two packs of Goodles protein pasta, instant brown rice, Fishwife sardines and preserved lemon, and Wild Planet skipjack tuna.
Of the canned fish, the creator noted, "So these two are both quite expensive, and that's probably driving up why there was so little in the bag as far as, like, value."
More background
Too Good To Go gives shoppers a chance to spend less on food while stores move products that might otherwise end up going to waste.
For less than $14 before tax, the creator walked away with produce, condiments, cheese, pasta, rice, tuna, and sardines — a mix that cost many times more if bought individually at full price.
The tradeoff is that buyers have no say in what ends up inside their grocery bags.
As a result, the creator turned to viewers for meal ideas that would incorporate her hodgepodge of grocery items.
"And you guys are gonna have to tell me what I should make with these," she said.
Some commenters noted that getting the more desirable bags on Too Good to Go can be a challenge because of high demand.
"I never get to Whole Foods bags in time," chimed in one.
Where can I learn more?
Still deciding whether surprise grocery bags are worth it after this Whole Foods haul? These stories take a broader look at Too Good To Go's expansion, how the app works, and other ways shoppers save on food that might otherwise go to waste.
• Too Good To Go's Whole Foods surprise bags and IKEA pickups drew bargain hunters.
• Across the U.S., Too Good To Go bags saved shoppers money while cutting food waste.
• Frugal shoppers are buying soon-to-expire groceries and freezing them before they spoil.
• At Tesco, bakery goods after 7 p.m. dropped in price instead of going unsold.
• At salvage grocery stores, deeply discounted pantry staples gave shoppers another backup plan.
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