It's not exactly breaking news that New Zealand has been battling a cost of living crisis, yet despite reports that food prices are gradually on the downturn, the tags on many day-to-day products still may cause a small conniption.
On Thursday, content creator @itscurlsbaby - a British expat who regularly documents the pros and cons of living in Aotearoa - couldn't help but gasp as he shared the current prices for everyday items at Woolworths, formerly known as Countdown, in a TikTok video.
"Let's find out just how expensive New Zealand groceries are in 2024," Curls began the video, which has since amassed almost 30,000 views at the time of writing.
First up, a box of green grapes - for $15. You might be able to hear the despondent wails of my bank account from here.
Next, a "nasty-looking apple turnover" from the supermarket's bakery section for $4.50, and third on the list, a 750g bag of roasted almonds - on sale for a whopping $16, down from $18.
But arguably one of the most depressing finds were wilting, "rancid" Valentine's Day flowers for a cool $50 - a price a clearly shocked Curls branded as "insane".
Among the other items to attract Curls' attention were Cocoa Pops, on sale for $8 down from $10; a Hallmark birthday card - "a bit of hard paper" - for $5.99; original Tim Tams for $4.50; a 295ml bottle of Heinz Garlic Lovers Aioli for $6.60; frozen microwave meals - "notoriously one of the cheapest things in the supermarket" - for $13.50; and a Cadbury Mini Eggs chocolate rabbit marked at $7.50, which was declared "mental".
"Two packets of rolls for $7.50, or one for $4.10 - 'low price?' I think we're looking at a different price, mate," he said as he zoomed in on a 'Low Price' label for Tip Top Supersoft Buns & Rolls.
"$7.15 for a yoghurt pot," he continued, panning to a 1kg tub of Yoplait Natural Sweetened Yoghurt.
Concluding the video, Curls joked: "So from now on, I'm just going to eat air."
The clip quickly had fellow disgruntled shoppers up in arms in the comments, with several questioning how much food is wasted due to the sky-high prices.
"Been living in NZ for 18 years. Went back to the UK last [year] for a holiday and cried at how cheap groceries were," one weighed in, with a second adding: "It's getting painful doing the groceries."
"Microwave meals for that price? I'm having takeaways," a third declared, while a fourth commented: "I remember when yogurt pots were like $2.99, but that was around 2009. Rent was so much cheaper then too."
"Groceries are cheaper for me in the UK than back home in NZ," one expat said.
"I pretty much live on budget bread and 99c tins of spaghetti," another shared.
Curls - who has been travelling around Aotearoa for about four years - appeared on The Project last year to discuss his popular videos, which he hopes help to "shine some positives" on the country.
"I mean, look, I love it here - what can I say? Credit where credit's due, it's an outstanding country - maybe not perfect but, look, I want to shine some positives on the place," he told The Project.
"Tourism countries do this company a disservice because the culture is so incredibly strong. Obviously, I've spent most of my time in the North Island, but I've got around a bit of the South as well - honestly, as I've said time and time again, my favourite thing about this country - and I mean this - it is the people."
It's not the first time content creators have documented Aotearoa's high food prices amid the ongoing cost of living crisis. Last year, New Zealand TikTokers Nikita and Hamish, who go by the username @inorbit_travel, gained hundreds of thousands of views across a series of videos documenting the exorbitant cost of food in local supermarkets.
In July, their video - titled "Outrageously Priced Items, Countdown NZ, 2023" - showed a series of items and their prices, starting with half a honeydew melon at $9, followed by a 200g punnet of 'jelly bean' cherry tomatoes for $9.99; a single yellow capsicum for $4.99; a pack of three New Zealand scotch fillet steaks for $37.10; a five-pack of Nissin instant noodles for $9; a 1L bottle of Charlie's Honest Squeezed Orange Juice for $9.50; and a 1kg block of Mainland edam cheese for $18.
