This switch-up was not a piece of cake.
Whole Foods regulars know that the Berry Chantilly Cake has been a pillar of the chain grocer’s bakery department for years, with fresh fruit sandwiched between spongey vanilla cake layers and topped with a whipped frosting.
But when the recipe for the individual slices of the fan-favorite dessert sold in many stores suddenly changed from fresh, sweet berry filling to a jam-like spread, loyal customers were bitter.
“Whole Foods Chantilly Cake is a victim of shrinkflation, look at this s–t,” decried one TikTokker, who showed the noticeably smaller slice that she claimed “tastes like s–t.”
“It tastes like raspberry jam-flavored cleaning product,” she described.
“Fix it or I’m calling the health inspector,” she said, menacingly.
Other aghast viewers said the news was “the worst thing” ever, and some even vowed to switch grocers and purchase the cakes from competitors like Publix or Trader Joe’s instead.
On X, users said Whole Foods was “ruining their life” by doing away with the original Berry Chantilly slices.
“I will never forgive you for this,” wrote one person.
“Whoever decided to change the Berry Chantilly cake at Whole Foods can burn in hell,” another said.
Another creator who goes by Lisa delivered the disappointing news to her audience online, saying she went into her local Whole Foods location and was informed they had “changed the recipe” and discontinued the individually sliced cake apparently once made in house.
According to Lisa, the worker said the grocer now receives the cake slices “frozen” — removing the fresh fruit. To get a piece with fresh fruit and the original recipe, the bakery employee suggested she buy an entire cake.
“Whole Foods, if you see this, I’m really disappointed,” she said. “I think all of America is disappointed and you should reverse your decision.”
And, surprisingly, they did.
In a statement to USA Today, the company explained that the change in recipe was their attempt to streamline the by-the-slice cake program that would allow all stores, rather than select locations, to receive individual slices of the Berry Chantilly cake.
That move, however, resulted in the dessert that elicited sour reactions from dissatisfied customers.
“We recently introduced a new by-the-slice item that was different from the iconic Berry Chantilly Cakes sold in our bakery cases,” Whole Foods told Today in a statment.
“Based on feedback from our customers, we will reintroduce single slices of the Berry Chantilly Cake that are the same as the classic our customers know and love.”