With food prices still climbing, spending $19 on a single grocery item is a luxury for most Americans. Perhaps it’s understandable for a bottle of wine, a nice steak, or a box of sushi. But what about a solitary strawberry from Japan, resting on a foam cushion in its own dome-shaped container?
Shoppers at Erewhon, the upscale Los Angeles grocery chain, are used to paying well-above-average prices. Erewhon is famous for its $20 smoothies (including some with celebrity associations), but a quick browse reveals many other eyebrow-raising prices: $21 for a gallon of raw milk, $14 for a bag of organic bagels, $54 for grass-fed Wagyu steak, $18 for organic roasted almond butter, and $85 for essential frankincense oil. You get the idea.
The grocery store is regularly featured by social media influencers on Instagram and TikTok, whether wandering through the aisles in awe of the prices or gleefully sharing their favorite Erewhon products.
The Elly Amai strawberry is the latest “viral” item from Erewhon. According to the grocery chain, the berries come from Japan’s Tochigi Prefecture, famed for its strawberries. They are flown to California (environmental impact notwithstanding) and appear on Erewhon shelves within two days of being picked for “peak ripeness,” with the high price reflecting the difficult logistics.
The Elly Amai strawberry regularly sells out from Erewhon shelves (it’s currently only stocked at the Pasadena, Santa Monica, and Beverly Hills locations), likely due to curiosity over the price rather than customers’ specific love of fancy strawberries. After all, the chain also sells entire boxes of organic, locally grown strawberries for the comparatively modest (for Erewhon) price of $24 per pound.
While many Americans have reacted incredulously to the Elly Amai strawberry, the $19 pricing might not shock Japanese shoppers. Japan has a well-established custom of giving luxury fruit as gifts, with a single melon or bunch or grapes sometimes selling for hundreds or even thousands of dollars.
Reviewers who have tried the strawberry have had somewhat mixed reactions. While many describe it as the best strawberry they've ever tasted, others say it's excessively sweet, almost like candy, and lacks the tartness of a “normal” strawberry. Elly Amai, a Kyoto-based company, grows the strawberries for sweetness, so they measure around 17 on the Brix meter of sugar content, compared to an average of 8 for most strawberries sold in the United States.
If you do get your hands on one, make sure to follow the instructions: They should be eaten within three days of purchase to ensure freshness (though anyone who spends $19 on a strawberry almost certainly eats it right away). The fragile berry bruises easily and should be allowed to “breathe” for up to 30 minutes at room temperature for ideal aroma and flavor.
Natural, organic, and really, really expensive:
- Erewhon started out in Boston, Massachusetts, in the 1960s, originally selling macrobiotic health foods. The name is an anagram of “nowhere,” from the satirical utopian novel of the same name by Samuel Butler.
- The original chain’s last location, on Beverly Boulevard, was purchased by Tony and Josephine Antoci in 2011. They have overseen its growth into a trendy LA institution frequented by the rich and famous.
- There are currently 10 Erewhon locations, all in Los Angeles County, though the company ships across the United States and to some international destinations. Three new stores are slated to open in 2025.
