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There was once a time when selling ice could be a fairly lucrative occupation, but that particular industry suffered a major setback courtesy of the electric freezers that most people rely on to get their fix nowadays. However, there are still plenty of companies that rely on frozen water to thrive—including one that’s gone viral courtesy of a product that was recently spotted at the infamously pricey Erewhon.
There’s a chance you’re not intimately familiar with Erewhon unless you’ve spent time in the Los Angeles area. The chain can trace its roots back to a grocery store in Boston that opened all the way back in 1966, but it’s best known for what’s transpired since it established its flagship location on Beverly Boulevard in 2011.
Erewhon—which currently boasts 10 stores scattered throughout Los Angeles County—is seemingly the brainchild of someone who shopped at a Whole Foods and thought, “Wait, how is none of this stuff even more expensive?”
Known for appealing to celebrities who don’t have to worry about checking their bank account balance, the trendy outposts cater to members of an Organic, Locally Sourced, Non-GMO Crowd that doesn’t mind dropping $20 on a gallon of raw milk or shelling out $26 on a bottle of “hyper oxygenated water.”
However, I’d argue Erewhon has really outdone itself courtesy of the sticker shock stemming from an eight-pack of ice spheres produced by Penny Round Ice, which were at the center of a video uploaded by a TikTok user who understandably wondered who would pay $31.99 for a bag of them.
Ice balls have become a staple at cocktail bars that value the crystal-clear orbs for both their aesthetic and the decreased dilution compared to traditional cubes, and most of those drinking establishments turn to suppliers like Penny Round Ice to supply them.
In an interview with Eater, a partner at that company stressed they’re not responsible for Erewhon’s pricing while shedding some light on why the balls are so pricey (it ultimately boils down to the kind of water that’s used, the density of the spheres, and the labor required to produce them).
However, it’s still hard to imagine there are a ton of people out there willing to pay what amounts to $4 per sphere—especially when you consider you can grab a mold on Amazon that allows you to make as many as you want in your own freezer for a fraction of the cost of a $32 bag.