One of Costco Most Popular Items Has Gone Up In Price, Members Say

In January of 2021, the Just Bare Lightly Breaded Chicken Breast Chunks sold at Costco went viral for their similarities to Chick-fil-A's nuggets. The 4-pound bag sold in the frozen section of the warehouse quickly sold out, and ever since then it has never been a guarantee you'll be able to snag one as supply goes up and down. But according to members, something important about them has changed recently. (For more on what's selling out fast, These Are Costco's Most Popular Items Right Now.)

As every shopper knows, inflation has taken its toll on grocery prices, and it looks like the Just Bare Chicken Nuggets are a victim. Members have taken to social media in the last few months to report that a bag is $19.99—around $6 more expensive than it was last year. Members on Reddit have celebrated finding a bag, with others revealing the cost went up.

Unfortunately, it looks like the price sign says it all, and members are having to ante up more to get the wildly popular and delicious nuggets. One member posted on Reddit in early May that they just discovered the Chick-fil-A dupes and fell in love.

Respondents commented that it's about time they tried the nuggets and that they miss the lower cost. Others mention inflation coupled with a wild bird flu spreading across the U.S. for the uptick.

The outbreak has infected millions of birds, including some in warehouses operated by Jennie-O—a brand under the Hormel Foods company and sold at grocery stores in the U.S. However, there has been no confirmation that any Just Bare or Costco chicken items have been affected by the illnesses.

Eat This, Not That! has reached out to both Just Bare and Costco for more information on the apparent price hike. But this isn't the only popular chicken product the warehouse chain sells that is a household staple. The rotisserie chicken can be eaten in a lot of different ways, but one of the reasons members love it is because of the price.

Fun fact: Costco actually loses money by keeping the deli item's price at $4.99…even though it sold over 106 million last year. That's about 300,000 a day, while inflation has gone up. In 2015, CFO Richard Galanti said the company is willing to lose money to keep the price low, according to The Seattle Times. Although that was seven years ago, the price still hasn't changed—even with prices at historical highs—and there are no whispers about it happening anytime soon.

In the meantime, other grocery chains are working to look more like the popular warehouse chain—Walmart and Kroger Are Working To Pull in More Shoppers Than Costco By Doing This.