You know the economy is getting bad when the price of knock-off products is starting to match the former price of the brands they’re imitating.
That’s the sentiment expressed by some folks who responded to a TikToker named Jordan (@jordanc007) who showed off a series of Great Value chocolate bars manufactured to emulate several popular candies like Kit-Kats, 3 Musketeers, Snickers, and Twix.
Jordan expressed shock at the price points of the chocolates in a viral clip that’s accrued over 689,000 views on the popular social media platform as of Monday morning.
While some viewers seemed to enjoy the fact that each of the offerings cost less than a dollar a piece and others said they even preferred some of the variants over their better-known counterparts, a few TikTok users still thought that they cost too much.
“Bro, Walmart is in their bag,” Jordan declares. “Knock-off Kit-Kat, knock-off 3 Musketeers, knock-off Snickers, knock-off Twix, bro I’ve never seen—” he notes at the end of the video, displaying a 78-cent price tag for each of the individually wrapped Great Value variants.
According to USC Annenberg Media, which cited studies from the Grocery Price Index, candy has been at its highest price in the United States in years, citing a massive 13% jump in the cost of candies “since 2021.”
Some offerings saw greater jumps than others. For instance, Skittles has skyrocketed to 42% of its previous cost and Starburst 35%, with Nestle Crunch and Butterfinger bars increasing by only 6% and 7% respectively.
These price hikes are a part of rising food inflation in the United States, which the USDA predicts will continue into 2024 as well.
Walmart advertises on its website that it offers a variety of Great Value chocolate brands, that retail for 78 cents per individual bar, or $2.98 for a 6 pack of their offerings.
@jordanc007 Like whats going on?! #walmart #candybars #candy ♬ original sound – Jordan
Commenters had a variety of different responses to his video. Some praised Walmart’s Great Value knock-offs.
“Their knockoff girl scout cookies slap,” one user wrote.
“Those Twix and snickers taste better than the real ones to me,” another remarked.
“I’m here to say these are the same if not better than name brands,” a further commenter said.
Another replied, “The knockoff Snickers are strong, the KitKats don’t measure up,” suggesting that some of the items are more enjoyable than others.
A number of other folks asked if there were any knock-off Reese’s chocolate peanut butter cups, while several others were shocked that Walmart was selling the candy for 78 cents apiece.
“Candy hasn’t been that price in years,” one TikToker wrote before capping off their comment with a crying emoji, seemingly intoning gratitude, or a yearning for days past.
“I neeeeeed cause $3 candy is crazy,” someone else responded.
One other TikTok user who responded to Jordan’s video wrote, “I can’t remember the last time i saw something that had the cent sign in a store.”
However, one commenter expressed shock that the cost of the knock-off candies is now the same average cost name brand candies carried years prior. “The knockoffs are now the price the originals use to be,” they said.
The Daily Dot has reached out to Walmart via email and Jordan via TikTok comment for further information.
