There’s not supposed to be a difference between the same type of Kraft-brand mac and cheese if you’re buying them from two different stores. But an unboxing revealed otherwise.
The on-camera reveal, showing the marked difference between a box bought at Walmart and a box bought at Dollar General, came from TikTok creator Lex (@justlexenee), responding to an observation about the product from another creator, TexasSunshine33 (@texassunshine33).
The comment in question, which prompted the video, read, “This is going to sound random, but does any of it ever taste different to you? My husband swears he can tell when I get the velveeta shells and cheese from the [Dollar General].”
This video, put up on Sunday, is approaching 29,000 views and also has accumulated a little more than 300 likes so far.
In it, the creator claims that her two boxes of Kraft Deluxe Original Cheddar Macaroni and Cheese Dinner have two different origins, with her husband theorizing the Walmart box will have only elbow macaroni pieces in it, and the Dollar General-purchased one will have “mixed noodles” in it.
“I was just, like, perplexed,” says the husband on video to preface the reveal.
Sure enough, when they do the reveal, the first one is indeed all elbows, whereas the Dollar General one has a mix of elbow pieces and shells.
“What the [expletive]!” the creator exclaimed, amazed to see the difference.
In the caption, she shouted back out to TexasSunshine33, noting, “GIRL!!!!!! This further proves his theory.”
Shoppers talk Dollar General
While Dollar General has a reputation as a store for people on a tight budget, some express dissatisfaction with it.
Its site declares, “We strive to make shopping hassle-free and affordable with more than 20,000 convenient, easy-to-shop stores in 48 states. Our stores deliver everyday low prices on items including food, snacks, health and beauty aids, cleaning supplies, basic apparel, housewares, seasonal items, paper products and much more from America’s most-trusted brands and products, along with high-quality private brands.”
However, in a Reddit post from last year on the r/povertyfinance forum, called “Tired of Dollar General,” the original poster said, “I’m so tired of arguing with my mom about Dollar General and how it’s not cheaper than anywhere else. She refuses to go to any other store because it must be cheaper there because ‘it’s the dollar store.’”
“You really can only shop the sales for a grocery trip,” said another regarding strategy. “Some things are cheaper, but most aren’t and with whatever deals your grocery store has DG can be way more expensive. You do always get like a $5 off type coupon every time, but it’s not like that really makes up for the $5 extra you just paid on your total order just now.”
That person added, “DG is my ‘on the way home need to grab one thing’ store, but that’s mostly because it’s easier to get in/out of than the grocery stores on my way home for the day. Sometimes I’ll see a great deal and buy a couple extra things.”
Expert talks Kraft Mac and Cheese
In the meantime, like Dollar General, Kraft is a well-known brand with competition in its space. In a recent review on Buzzfeed to determine the best boxed mac and cheese, two Kraft varieties went up against other brands in a blind taste test.
The Kraft Original variant finished 7th out of nine, with the reviewer pointing out, “Everything about Kraft’s mac ‘n’ cheese is basic, and I say this as someone who will ALWAYS love it for nostalgia and comfort reasons.” However, he made the observation it tasted like “wet pasta,” and recommended whole milk over 2% to keep it from “just settling at the bottom of your bowl like the world’s saddest bowl of food.”
The winner in his taste test? Perhaps, surprisingly, it was Walmart’s Great Value brand, which the reviewer declared, “The cheese sauce here was an 11/10. When making it, I did notice that it thickened far quicker than any of the other varieties. In the moment, it worried me! But after tasting it, I realized that its thickness helped it to adhere to each and every noodle.”
The Kraft Deluxe version, however, did land at No. 3 on the list.
@justlexenee Replying to @ TexasSunshine33
What commenters thought
This was a topic people had opinions on.
“The DG ones are the pieces they sweep up from the floor each night at the factory,” one said.
“This was a mistake at the factory,” another theorized. “Kraft couldn’t sell it to big box retailers so lower budget stores get it at a discount. It’s ‘scratch and dent.’”
But that led the creator to reveal, “We pay more at Dollar General!”
“People, it’s not Dollar Tree,” another attempted to clarify. “It’s Dollar General.”
TexasSunshine33 also entered the chat.
“You have no idea how much joy this brought me,” she posted. “I’m dying over here.”
That led Lex to respond, “I was immediately like okay hold up let’s record this so I can go back and tell you! Ever since you pointed it out, I couldn’t stop thinking how it all tastes different. And now there’s confirmation.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Lex via email and TikTok direct message and to Dollar General and Kraft via email.
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