Whole Foods' Much-Loved Berry Chantilly Cake Falls Victim To 'Skimpflation'

Whole Foods is being accused of not-so-subtle skimpflation regarding one of the popular store's most beloved bakery items: the Berry Chantilly Cake. Skimpflation occurs when a business starts to "skimp" on the quality of a product or service. This can happen in the form of adding artificial flavorings where there were once all-natural ingredients, or slightly reducing the size of a product without disclosing the shrinkage to customers. In the case of Whole Foods' beloved Berry Chantilly Cake, customers have reported a noticeable difference in both appearance and flavor, taking to social media to accuse the grocery store chain of changing the recipe — and not for the better.

@culturework

@Whole Foods Market my last little joy in this world and you took it. Fix it or im calling the health inspector on silverlake 🚨🚨🚨🚨#fyp

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One Whole Foods shopper shared this discovery on TikTok, claiming that the cake slice was "half the size it used to be" and reportedly tasted "like raspberry jam-flavored cleaning product." At a flat rate of $4.99 per slice, the creator was frustrated to discover just how different the confection had become while remaining at the same price.

A Reddit user also noticed a drastic difference, writing that the cake filling once had a "delectable fresh fruit in the center," which has since been replaced by jam and "tossed to the side of the plastic container like a forgotten memory." Clearly, the changes have not gone unnoticed by fans, who are now calling for Whole Foods to fix this apparent skimpflation and return the original version of the Berry Chantilly Cake to stores.

The Whole Foods Berry Chantilly Cake is often used as a budget wedding cake because it is so beloved among shoppers, so it didn't take long for customers to notice a drop in quality and size. Luckily, Whole Foods has heard the customer complaints and issued a response confirming that the company will reinstate the original Berry Chantilly Cake recipe. On Friday, October 4, 2024, a Whole Foods spokesperson told CNN, "Based on feedback from our customers, we will reintroduce single slices of the Berry Chantilly Cake that are the same as the classic our customers know and love." Many were surprised to see that Whole Foods responded positively to the accusations, noting that businesses rarely reverse an attempt at changing recipes and reducing product sizes.

Whole Foods stated that the change will be implemented in the coming week, but only time will tell if the cake slices will actually offer the same size, filling, and flavor that customers remember pre-skimpflation. Until the original cake slices are returned to the bakery aisles at Whole Foods, consider baking a copycat version at home using Food Republic's light and airy Chantilly cake with berries recipe.