An Aussie influencer shocked at the whopping amount of money she forked out for smashed avocado on toast and a sandwich has divided the internet.
Mea Jasmin was astounded to pay $40 for the takeaway breakfast meals from a Perth cafe on the weekend.
Venting her disbelief in a video posted to TikTok captioned ‘Cost of living is a joke in ‘, the influencer showed the contents of the takeaway containers, as she slowly exhaled.
‘I’m not even going to say anything, but I ordered smashed avo. I ordered smashed avo, and that’s exactly what I got,’ she said.
‘I’m trying not to laugh.’
The inside of the container had two slices of toast with avocado on the side, with a garnish that appeared to be dukkah or nuts.
The influencer then opened up the second container.
‘I got a vegan eggplant sandwich. I paid $40, guys. I’m just going to leave it at that. Maybe it tastes amazing,’ she said.
The sandwich appeared to consist of two slices of tomato, smashed avocado with a slice of eggplant.
Calling the costs as ‘wild’, many viewers were also in disbelief – that she had ordered and paid for expensive takeaway meals.
‘Did you not see the price before ordering?’ one commented.
Another added: ‘The issue here is you paid. I’d have said no thanks and left.’
A third wrote: ‘The problem is that if we pay that, they will continue to charge that.’
Mea told her followers: ‘The heartbreaking part was that this was my favourite brekkie spot of FIVE YEARS and they had just changed owners and what I was served compared to before was shocking to say the least.’
The influencer added she usually does a lot of meal preparation but there are days when it is not possible.
Many Aussies urged the influencer to eat more at home and pay a fraction of the cost.
‘See I wouldn’t pay that amount… Cook mostly at home. Often tastes better too!’ one wrote.
Mea replied: ‘I totally agree with you mate! I cook 90 per cent at home too so quite the disappointment when you actually do end up eating out and it’s not up to your expectations’.
The influencer’s post is at a time when many hospitality businesses are doing it tough post-Covid.
CreditorWatch predicted that 9.1 per cent of businesses in the struggling industry will be broke in the next 12 months as customers will be watching their spending even more – especially if interest rates don’t fall.
Independent Food Distributors chief executive Richard Forbes recently told news.com.au of the many struggles hospitality business owners face and the costs they need to absorb in order to survive.
The cost of food has risen by 30 per cent over the last three years for distributors – which is then passed on to customers.
Businesses also have had to face rent increases and higher insurance prices, while energy and petrol have also skyrocketed.
‘At the end of the day, when you have rising energy costs, insurance, rents, fuel and labour costs in the beginning of the supply chain down to the end of it, then the people that end up paying more for their coffees, their piece of carrot cake, their meal at a restaurant, their parmigiana at a pub, are the consumers,’ Mr Forbes said.
‘They are only doing raising the prices of their products to survive, it is as simple as that.’