A Walmart shopper accused the store of scaling back on holiday cheer this year.
A major part of the holiday season is getting to indulge in season-specific foods like eggnog, peppermint bark, gingerbread, and the iconic tins of flavored popcorn. But major corporations may be ruining that.
Walmart get called out for contents of popcorn tin
In a trending video with more than 77,000 views, TikToker Shamar (@theeonlyshamar) shared his disappointment after opening a tin of holiday popcorn from Walmart.
“Walmart, guess what? I’m down with y’all,” Shamar asked as he opened the aluminum container.
Shamar explained that he already stopped buying groceries from Walmart and was disappointed that even their seasonal treats are lacking.
Most of the time, popcorn tins come filled to the brim, and some even have dividers to section off different flavors. But when Shamar opened the container, which cost about $7, he was surprised to find three bags sitting there.
“Look at this goofy [expletive, expletive] right here. Look at this, … man,” Shamar said.
“Since when y’all put popcorn in these little bags?” he added.
He noted that on top of that, the actual tin was smaller than it used to be.
“Not only did you shrink the can, you even got more bogus and put them in the bags. You know what, Walmart? [Expletive] you. How about that?” Shamar said.
To be clear, the reason Shamar is upset is because the tin is already small, and on top of that, using bags instead of filling up the container directly likely leads to less product for the consumer.
While this isn’t confirmed, it’s possible the bags are now used to keep the popcorn fresh longer.
If you’re looking for locally owned alternatives to Walmart’s shrinking tins, Thrillist has a list, organized by state, of locally owned businesses that sell tinned popcorn. You can pick up your treat in person from these stores, or they all offer nationwide shipping.
The history of the tinned popcorn
It is believed that tinned popcorn rose in popularity in part because of the emergence of movie theaters (with which popcorn is now synonymous) and the Great Depression. During the Great Depression, popcorn was considered an affordable luxury, Thrillist reported.
“The buttery snack offered a slither of joy in an otherwise dark period of time,” Thrillist stated.
A representative for Garrett Popcorn Shops, one of Chicago’s most popular popcorn companies, said they started selling their popcorn in tins to protect the kernels during shipping.
The president of Topsy’s Popcorn said it started selling the popcorn in tins almost by “accident,” the Daily Meal reported.
“That’s how we used to receive the popcorn oil, in those pails—plain, silver, metal cans,” he reportedly said.
He figured since the factories already had the material and machines for tins, it was the perfect vessel.
Seeing that a competitor started painting these tins, Topsy’s started printing festive designs on their product, inspiring what is now a decades-long food tradition.
In 2021, Topsy’s sold more than 100,000 holiday popcorn tins.
Commenters react
“They make it smaller and charge more,” a top comment read.
“Yeah,the cans used to have the dividers,and was $5.00 a can,” a person recalled.
“Agreed ,so disappointed, and its sugared corn not caramel corn,” another wrote.
@theeonlyshamar Walmart popcorn 👎🏿 #TheOnlyShamar #popcornbucket #walmartpopcorn #edit #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp #fypシ #shamar #ForYou #ViralVideo #TrendAlert #CreativeContent #TikTokTrends ♬ original sound – The Only Shamar ⭐️
The Daily Dot reached out to Shmar for comment via email and TikTok direct message and to Walmart via email.
Internet culture is chaotic—but we’ll break it down for you in one daily email. Sign up for the Daily Dot’s web_crawlr newsletter here. You’ll get the best (and worst) of the internet straight into your inbox.
