A content creator is going viral on TikTok after sharing a fact that seems almost too absurd to be true. Olive oil is just as expensive as gas.
User @imthejay said she went to Walmart in December, where she noted that a 101 fl. oz. bottle of Great Value olive oil cost more than $37. It doesn’t appear the price has decreased since then. According to Walmart’s website, you can buy the same bottle online for $37.92.
“So, why is olive oil about the price of gas?” @imthejay questioned in her clip. As of Thursday, her video had amassed more than 3.3 million views.
@imthejay said the bottle cost the same amount as filling up her gas tank. As a result of the exorbitant price, the content creator said she needed “prayers and ibuprofen.”
Why is Great Value olive oil so pricey?
@imthejay isn’t the first content creator to note that Great Value olive oil is expensive.
In a 2023 post to the r/Frugal subreddit, one Redditor wondered why it’s cheaper to buy the oil from Walmart in smaller quantities. They included a picture of the same Great Value olive oil, which appeared to confirm that the bottles have always been on the more expensive side.
In 2023, a 17 fl oz. bottle cost $2.88 compared with a 25.5 fl oz. bottle, which cost nearly $5. The same 101 fl. oz container that @imthejay found two years later was more than $13 cheaper: $24.34 then compared with $37.92 now.
In the comments of the Redditor’s query, one fellow Reddit user guessed that the smaller bottles of oil were cheaper so people kept coming back for more.
“Probably get more incidental sales by having people come back for basics like oil more frequently,” the top-liked comment read.
More recently, this past March, another Redditor noted in the r/Costco subreddit that the price of basic olive oil had increased there too. A large bottle of the store’s Kirkland Signature olive oil, they noted, costs about $51 now.
“I used to buy this for $25 back in 2021,” they wrote.
According to the Tasting Table, olive oil is expensive, in part, due to the specific processes and standards the oil has to meet.
“For example, to achieve the grade of EVOO, the oil must have no more than 0.8% acidity and must be crafted by one of two methods: pressing the olives with direct contact or by using centrifuges to press the oil out,” it said.
It also said that most olives are grown in the Mediterranean, meaning consumers are paying the price of an import.
‘Wait till you look at almond butter, girl’
In the comments section of @imthejay’s video, several users noted that olive oil isn’t the only food staple getting pricer. And they’re right. For one, the cost of eggs has skyrocketed as of late.
But what other food items are getting more expensive?
“Wait till you look at almond butter, girl,” one woman warned.
Others similarly questioned the high price of olive oil.
“It’s kind of absurd how expensive [olive oil] is,” one commenter said.
“Olive oil is actually way more expensive than gas,” a third user noted.
And some users pointed out a temporary solution for @imthejay: Buy the smaller bottle.
“Prayers and ibuprofen [are] so real,” a third viewer lamented.
“Bro why do you need so much [olive oil]?” one user questioned.
“Why are you buying restaurant-sized olive oil,” another asked.
“Buy the smaller one. What??”
The Daily Dot has reached out to @imthejay via TikTok comment and to Walmart through its online contact form.
@imthejay n thats the cheap kind bruh
♬ original sound – imthejay
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