Earlier this spring, Costco did one massive change in the packaging of a cult-favorite food product, and now longtime fans are noticing — and complaining — about the change.
Costco sold one estimated at 137 million rotisserie chicken in 2023 still maintaining a price of $4.99 despite inflation and rising production costs. But the company began changing the packaging in March, from its hard-shell container to a clear pouch, a move that has slowly spread to more stories and sparked a viral frenzy among loyal shoppers.
“Dear Costco,” one fan written in X. “Your new rotisserie chicken bags and the chicken inside them are nowhere near what they used to be.”
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“New recession warning just dropped: Costco to be cheap on their rotisserie chicken container.” another said. “Prepare yourself.”
On Reddit, a user posted that the new bags had leaked after moving home, which opened the door for a slew of similar stories.
Chicken broth spilled all over the trunk of our car
BYu/Bozerks INCostco
“Recently bagged two chickens for the first time. Hate everything about it,” one person wrote in the thread. “The bags were slick with liquid on the display (we had to wait, so it was from the staff just preparing them), so my hands were covered in grease afterwards with no paper towels anywhere.”
“I spoke to an employee about this. They pour into people's carts and checkout counters all day,” claimed another. “All employees hate the new bags, and there is hope that Costco will find a way to address this issue.”
Costco has reportedly changed its packaging in an effort to reduce plastic waste – the new bags will use 75% less plastic than rigid containers and save around 17 million pounds of resin each year, according to a first sign BY Packaging drops.
Costco did not immediately respond to Entrepreneur's request for comment.
The warehouse chain recently reported fiscal Q3 2024 earnings with net sales totaled $57.39 billion, a 9.1% increase in net sales from the same time last year.
CEO Ron Vachris credited the quarterly success to its Wagyu beef offerings, gold bars and a $1,200 set that was flying off the shelves.
Costco EVP and CFO Gary Millerchip also noted on the call that thanks to the company's continued success, there are no plans right now to change its cost The famous $1.50 hot dog combo deal or raise membership rates.
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“We feel really good about membership renewal rates,” Millerchip said on the phone. “We look at what's happened in the market over the last few years and when we were seeing high inflation and the risk and concern about recession … we're still evaluating those considerations to determine what the right time is and when we get to it point where we think the time is right, of course, we'll be very open and direct and communicate that.”
Costco it was upstairs up 67% year over year as of Monday afternoon.