Recently, the upscale supermarket Erewhon in the Los Angeles area has been making waves on the internet for selling a high-priced fruit – a single strawberry priced at $19.99, dubbed as the “Hermès of the strawberry world”.
These strawberries have a proprietary name, called “Elly Amai”. Each “Elly Amai” strawberry is imported from Kyoto, Japan, hand-picked to achieve a “perfect” appearance, and then individually packaged for sale.
According to a spokesperson for Erewhon who confirmed to Fox News Digital, these high-priced strawberries are picked in their “best condition” and then placed on the shelves for sale within 24 to 48 hours.
“These strawberries are organic, accounting for 0.002% of Japan’s production,” the spokesperson said.
Reports mention that the texture of “Elly Amai” strawberries is described as “neither sour nor bitter” as premium Japanese strawberries aim to meet the standard of being “without any sourness or bitterness”.
In recent years, Erewhon has become a popular destination in the Los Angeles area, focusing on promoting a “healthy lifestyle” concept, attracting locals and tourists. Erewhon has also gained popularity among celebrities and the wealthy, with celebrities like Hailey Bieber, Gisele Bündchen, and Kendall Jenner being frequent customers.
Not only celebrities visit Erewhon, but ordinary Californians also do not shy away from tasting rare foods. A social media user named Lily, a food channel blogger from Orange County, California, documented her experience tasting these strawberries.
Lily described in her video that each strawberry is cultivated for seven years in Kyoto to have “perfect symmetry, vibrant color, and extraordinary size”.
She mentioned the smell of the strawberries as “incredibly fragrant” and confirmed that the taste was excellent.
“In fact, these are extraordinary strawberries; I can even say they are perfect,” she said.
Lily added, “These strawberries are exceptionally sweet, fragrant, and at the peak of ripeness.”
Consumers are advised to wash the strawberries, remove the stems, and wait for 30 minutes after opening the box to allow the strawberries to release their full sweet fragrance before consuming.
During an interview with Fox News Digital, Lily acknowledged that spending $20 on a strawberry is a “ridiculous price, but for the experience, it’s fun!”
Social media influencer Lauren Godwin, who has nearly 23 million followers on TikTok, also shared her experience tasting these strawberries.
“I’m not kidding. 1,000 out of 1,000 points,” she said.
Other netizens also expressed their opinions on the sky-high priced strawberries. A user commented under Lily’s video, saying, “Wow. That’s a strawberry. I’ll spend a few bucks at the local place for a freshly picked one in season.”
“Still cheaper than eggs,” another user teased, referencing the current skyrocketing egg prices in California.
User Emma G commented on Godwin’s video, “I’d rather book a flight to Japan and pick them myself.”
In fact, expensive fruits in Japan are not limited to strawberries. The Hokkaido specialty, Yubari melon, is renowned in Japan and even hailed as the “best fruit in the world.” Two particular Yubari melons once sold for a sky-high price of 5 million Japanese yen.