1 Product, 24 Hours, A $27 Price Increase

What the actual f*ck is happening with Whole Foods Coffee?

In the summer of 2021 I started drinking Whole Foods’ Pleasant Morning Buzz coffee. For about 14 months I paid $10.99 per bag, consistently, for this product. In December of 2022 I noticed the price of my coffee went up to $12.99. Annoying, but hey…economics, you know? Then, just as I’d acclimated to the cost, it went up again, and then again, and then again. What follows here is an effort to prove to you, and perhaps myself, that my marbles are not lost. Something is happening to the price of this coffee, and by logic probably other items, too—and I just want the parties responsible to know that I see you.

In July of 2023 I started screenshotting the price of my coffee regularly, because I can’t be the only person who knows about this—it’s too slick. I’ll share a random sampling of the evidence in a minute, but I hate when people bury the lede so I won’t do that to you. What you really need to know is that this was the price of my coffee yesterday:

And here’s how much it costs today:

This is, by FAR, the biggest price leap I’ve seen since I began this ridiculous project, thus my inability to keep it to myself any longer. Well, that’s not true I’ve been forcing my best friend to listen to me stalk a bag coffee like a basement dwelling theorist with red string connecting an intricate series of photographs and maps, but apart from that, this is the first time I’ve felt compelled to alert the public.

Note that these screenshots pertain to the UPS delivery of this coffee, not ordering from Whole Foods and having it delivered same-day, which is listed just below the main price in the highlighted orange box. You can access this coffee either way, but both prices have been changing their mind more than the weather in May for basically an entire year. I buy this coffee both ways, after I compare prices, obviously. My last two orders have been via UPS, as the price was…