The $19 strawberry that went viral. The egg prices everyone’s talking about. An expert explains why
University of California - San Diegorocery prices are having a moment in 2025. On social media, food costs have become a full-blown cultural conversation, from outrage over a $19 strawberry (yes, one strawberry) at the upscale Los Angeles grocery store Erewhon to the rising price of staples like eggs. These moments fuel frustration, memes and more than a few stressed-out grocery haul videos.
But behind the jokes and viral receipts is something real: food isn’t optional. For many, these price spikes aren’t just inconvenient—they’re overwhelming. And while the financial burden is a driving force, the constant conversation around the cost of food—whether we’re talking overpriced indulgences or everyday essentials—may also reflect deeper concerns about stability, control and trust in the economy.
To unpack the psychology behind these reactions, we turned to neuroeconomist Uma Karmarkar, an associate professor with a joint appointment at UC San Diego’s Rady School of Management and School of Global Policy and Strategy. Karmarkar holds a Ph.D. in neuroscience from UCLA and a second Ph.D. in consumer behavior from Stanford, and her research draws from psychology, marketing and neuroscience to understand what drives economic behavior.