As Easter approaches, Aldi playfully christens the beloved hot cross bun ‘Hot Crossy Bs’.

Meanwhile, animal advocacy charity Open Cages sheds light on the plight of ‘frankenchickens’, and Iceland takes us to a world of pure unimagination.

Check out what’s new this week across TikTok, X and YouTube

Yellow sticker wars

@freeloading_chaz forever lurking by the yellow sticker gods #yellowsticker #marksandspencer #mandsfood #marksandspencerfood #mands #thingsisufferfrom #fyp ♬ original sound - 🎵🎶

TikTok user @freeloading_chaz dedicates his whole profile with 15 videos of memes about getting reduced groceries from Marks & Spencer. In the latest video, he shows himself sneakily looking over the shoulder of the M&S worker who is adding discounts to items going out of date – ready to bag himself a bargain.

The video amassed 1.2 million views in two days as well as 111.2k likes. With the caption: “Forever lurking by the yellow sticker gods”, user @godweeny replied: “As a former M&S employee I’ve had to be escorted off the shop floor by security because of people swarming me for reduced items.” The same with user @jmetts18, who wrote: “We had a fist fight between customers for reduced turkeys on Christmas Eve on multiple occasions.”

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Hot Crossy Bs

As the Easter holidays draw near, discounter Aldi took to its tongue-in-cheek X account to suggest a new nickname for the national treasure that is the hot cross bun: Hot Crossy Bs. The style echoes the playful spirit of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee weekend celebrations, where ‘Platty Joobs’ entered the British vernacular. 

See also: Maccy Ds, Marks & Sparks, and cozzy livs (cost of living crisis).

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Better Chicken Commitment

@opencages Are there chemical burns on your chicken? We’ll show you how to spot it 😱 Open Cages has published a report inspecting hundreds of whole chickens sold in @LidlGB ♬ original sound - Open Cages

Animal advocacy charity Open Cages has launched a campaign highlighting the plight of ‘frankenchickens’, bred for rapid growth, leading to suffering and health issues. In a recent TikTok video, they enter a Lidl store and pick up a prepared fresh chicken, saying “this chicken has a severe case of hock burn. This is a skin disease caused by the birds being forced to lay in their own faeces and urine.”

The video calls for people to sign a petition in their campaign asking Lidl to sign up to the Better Chicken Commitment. Commenter @cvijetic69 wrote: “This is why we should focus more on quality than quantity….but on the other side the government is making it impossible.” Many other people commented that this is not something they see in Lidl stores across the rest of Europe – only the UK.

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#NoFarmersNoFood

Farmers in Wales have been voicing their concerns through mass protests outside the Senedd in Cardiff. X user @jamesrbuk shared images of the demonstration, where many grievances stem from the Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) proposed by the Welsh government. 

The SFS requires farmers to allocate portions of their land for tree planting and wildlife habitat, with one placard pictured reading “No to the net zero 20% farmers’ land grab” and “You may be next! Would you agree to give up 20% of your home? Spare room?”

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Hatching supermarket eggs

British YouTuber Jay Swingler embarked on an egg-citing adventure to hatch a supermarket egg. After interviewing experts who warned against angering the egg suppliers and the supermarket, he headed to Sainsbury’s and documented his journey from grocery aisle to incubator.

He finishes the video saying: “If there’s one thing I’ve learned from this process, it’s that eggs can be much more than food. After this, I’m not sure where I’ll go from here about eating eggs.” He left an update in the comments: “The quails are now at an animal sanctuary where they’re able to live long happy lives together, rather than being slaughtered for dogfood.”

Amassing 849k views and 57k likes on YouTube alone, comments included @Mighty_Maihi: “This kinda makes me wanna shine a flashlight at every egg I find in a supermarket.”

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Wonka

Iceland took to X to jump on the Glasgow ‘Willy Wonka Experience’ meme currently circulating. It emerged from a themed event where attendees were disappointed and confused with a bare warehouse with sparse decorations, made-up characters and Oompa Loompas in cheap Amazon costumes. Social media erupted with memes and mockery.

Frozen specialist Iceland Foods took the opportunity to plug its deals on air fryers and products made for air frying.

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Charles is The Grocer’s digital and social producer, specialising in trend pieces, profiles and range previews - curating content and shaping The Grocer’s online presence. Charles conducts interviews with industry professionals, providing a glimpse into the personal and professional lives of leaders in food and drink through My Alternative CV profiles, and offering insight into what a career in fmcg could look like for other young people through My Food and Drink Job. They preview upcoming product ranges, especially during seasonal events, highlighting new product launches, trends, and innovations before they hit supermarket shelves. Charles also contributes to analysis pieces covering trends, industry developments and attitudes on social media.View full Profile

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