Paying a premium isn’t always the worst thing if you know you’re getting a quality product but, except for the lucky few in society who needn’t worry about their spending, it’s rarely a good idea to get excited in a supermarket.
It’s all too easy to rack up a nasty final bill if you let your tastes take control of your basket. Painful as it might be, sometimes you have to put the Napolina tins down and get the own-brand tomatoes.
It can sometimes seem like supermarkets are booby-trapped with ploys to empty your wallet.
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All that said, when it comes to staples, occasionally treating yourself to a premium brand shouldn’t be a bank-breaker.
If you’re in the States and looking to buy some butter, be warned that quality comes with a hefty price tag.
Kerrygold, a famous Irish butter brand that’s been sold in the US since the late 90s, has recently drawn some consternation for its premium price tags across the pond.
It might be on the fancier side of the butter spectrum, but in May 2024 it was named as US’s second-favourite branded butter. In other words, it isn’t a niche upgrade.
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Caitlin Francis, posting on X in January 2025, shared a photo from 2017 of a Kerrygold price tag in a supermarket showing it priced at $7.69 (£6.19).
“This is a pic from Jan 2017,” wrote Caitlin. “Today I paid $15.69 for it. I like don’t even know what to do with this information.”
In Great British Pounds, that $15.69 equates to £12.62.
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.”
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If your means don’t extend to forking out more than a tenner for a block of butter, be comforted by the fact that there are far better things to spend your money on.
The eight-year jump in prices is nevertheless alarming. The 2017 price tag was for a three-pack of 8oz blocks (around 681g) for the equivalent of £6.19. That same weight having more than doubled to £12.62 is far beyond the rate of inflation in that period.
In the UK, a 250g block of Kerrygold will set you back by £2.60 in supermarkets like Tesco and Asda.
Someone suggested that Caitlin should ‘just buy different butter’.
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She responded: “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.”
Stunned by the price, someone else 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.”
“Grass fed and clean,” Caitlin replied. “I can get other butter for cheaper without moving, that’s not the point.”
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“I cannot get over the fact that people in America will pay $15 for Kerrygold butter,” commented another. “Is American butter really that bad? We’re blessed in Ireland that normal butter is such high quality."
If you’re shocked by a price or feel it’s unreasonable, as Caitlin did with the Kerrygold, the worst thing you can do is cough up.
Topics: US Food
Rachael Davis