Kroger (KR) has recently seen a spike in consumer demand, despite recent inflation and growing concerns about tariffs raising prices.
In Kroger’s first-quarter earnings report for 2025, it revealed that its identical sales without fuel increased by 3.2% year-over-year during the quarter.
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Customer visits to Kroger stores increased year-over-year in January but were slightly down in February, according to recent data from Placer.ai.
Related: Kroger announces big store change amid price gouging accusations
“We’re seeing improved grocery center store trends,” said CEO Ron Sargent during an earnings call on June 20. “We saw that, certainly in the first quarter, and we expect to see that, you know, every quarter this year.”
Kroger sparked controversy with a bakery item that made a poor impression on customers.
Image source: Shutterstock
Kroger goes viral for a major botch
As Kroger sees higher sales, it has found itself embroiled in controversy over a celebratory bakery item that went viral on social media for all the wrong reasons.
On June 18, a customer visiting a Kroger store in Atlanta, Georgia, posted a video on TikTok showing a display of cookie cakes the store decorated in honor of Juneteenth, a federal holiday on June 19 that commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S.
One cake was decorated with icing that spelled “Free @ last,” while another spelled “June 19 Free.” Some even just had the words “Congratulations” and “Free” scribbled onto them. The piped lettering on the cakes appears uneven and rushed.
In the video, she claims that the cakes were decorated in a sloppy manner compared to other cakes in the store.
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“Who the hell made these ugly a*s sh*t? I wish it was a manager here, because y’all decorate everything else right here, cute,” she said. “But for Juneteenth, you want to just throw something on a freaking cookie cake and expect someone to buy it.”
She said the cakes are “unacceptable” and vowed to return to the store the next day to speak with a manager.
“Kroger count your days,” she wrote in the caption of the video. “Why even bother if you’re going to lack creativity. This is Kroger on Howell Mill Rd., Atlanta Ga. This is a mockery! Am I tripping, someone let me know!”
The video has so far amassed over 1.3 million likes and over 40,000 comments. Many TikTok users in the comment section under the video expressed shock and disappointment with how the cakes were decorated.
“If you didn’t bring up Juneteenth I would’ve thought it was a welcome home from jail cake,” wrote one TikTok user in the comment section.
“This is funny but NOT funny. I’m highly disappointed in Kroger,” wrote another user.
“ATP fire the whole bakery cuz that’s deliberate,” said another.
Kroger responds to the controversy
In a statement to Newsweek, a Kroger spokesperson said that the cakes in the video were not representative of the quality the company wants to see in its stores.
“The cakes and cookies that were featured in the video were inconsistent with our provided guidance and not of the quality we would expect to see from our stores,” said the spokesperson. “The products have been removed, and we’ve addressed this directly with the store teams and the customer who took the initial video.”
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The controversy mirrors the backlash Walmart received in 2022 for selling “Juneteenth Ice Cream” under its Great Value label.
“Share and celebrate African-American culture, emancipation and enduring hope,” read the label on the red velvet-flavored ice cream.
Some consumers called this move cultural appropriation and flagged that the retailer failed to highlight small black-owned businesses.
Walmart later responded to the outrage by apologizing and removing the item from stores.
“Juneteenth holiday marks a celebration of freedom and independence,” said a Walmart spokesperson in a statement in 2022. “However, we received feedback that a few items caused concern for some of our customers and we sincerely apologize. We are reviewing our assortment and will remove items as appropriate.”
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