Costco is making a small change to one of its bakery staples — and members are divided.
Shopping at Costco tends to come with the dilemma of good prices but too much food, and now the warehouse chain is testing a new way to sell its Kirkland Signature bagels to combat that.
When buying bagels from the bakery, shoppers were required to buy two six-packs of bagels for $5.99, whether they wanted 12 bagels or not. Now, locations are selling one bag of eight bagels for $4.99.
Members have complained about the old packaging style for years, not wanting to commit to buying a dozen bagels, and because of Costco’s preservative-free recipe, their bagels are known to grow mold quickly.
The new setup seems to be more feasible for shoppers and might help reduce food waste. Shoppers will be able to buy an amount they’ll actually eat rather than overbuying and either freezing or tossing extras.
Especially for smaller households or people who aren’t buying for a big family, getting less food at a time is more practical.
“No more bagels going bad before you can finish them,” Instagram account @costcobuys said in a video.
“About time!!” one person wrote.
“I never buy them for home because I don’t want 12 bagels, so love the single pack option!” another said.
“Honestly I prefer this. I hated buying two packs and having a few bagels go bad because I can’t go through them all at once,” a Reddit user said.
However, some people are disappointed, arguing that the change is ultimately a price increase since there are four fewer bagels and it’s only $1 cheaper.
Twelve bagels for $5.99 comes out to about 50 cents per bagel, while eight bagels for $4.99 comes out to about 62 cents per bagel. Though some people on Reddit said that their local Costco charges $7.99 for the two six-packs, which would come out to about 66 cents per bagel — just a four-cent increase.
“So before, you got 12 for $5.99. Now, you get 8 for $4.99. They raised prices without raising prices,” one commenter noted.
“So now it is more expensive per pack,” another wrote.
Pushing back against this argument, others say that it’s actually cheaper in the long run if you use the food or forget about it in the freezer.
As Consumer Affairs noted, “A single $4.99 pack you finish is cheaper than two packs where one goes stale.”
Other people were upset for their personal shopping reasons.
“I just unfroze the second bag of six I bought like a month ago. If it is switched to one bag of eight, I’m gonna be bummed,” one said.
“The 2 packs are perfect. 6 bagels last a week and won’t get moldy. Then the other pack goes in the freezer when we get home, and thawed when needed. 8 at once is too much for us,” another shared.
The rollout of the bakery switch isn’t at all locations yet, and availability can vary by location.
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