VkusVill: A Store That's Ripping Us Off

I've been a fan of healthy eating for a while now, and I'm super picky about the ingredients in my food. That's why I used to be a regular at the VkusVill stores - they claim to sell high-quality products, and there are actually four locations within walking distance from my place. But, to be honest, I've been noticing some stuff that's been really disappointing lately.

Prices

Most of their products are way overpriced, if you ask me. Take the April strawberry selection, for instance. Check out the price tag!

I recently picked up a kilogram of veggies from the store down the street for 450 rubles. That's a pretty big difference!

Or let's compare the prices of oatmeal. Here are the prices from VkusVill (these are old pics, but they were taken at the same time in different stores).

The price difference is pretty small, but why bother printing it on the packaging in the first place?

I've been avoiding their dairy products for a while now because the packaging is just so hard to open.

I've managed to avoid that issue since then.For comparison, my go-to broccoli costs 435 rubles in the supermarkets at the moment (09.07.2023). At this price, it just sits around and wilts on the shelves. Meanwhile, I can get the freshest broccoli for 250 rubles a kilogram at the veggie store next door. A friend of mine recently picked up broccoli for 135 rubles at a market near her place in the outskirts of Moscow. If it were that cheap, I'd be munching on it from dawn till dusk – 435 rubles a kilogram? I'd rather buy strawberries or cherries!

⚠️ WATCH OUT ⚠️

More often than not, the same product sold in supermarkets with the 'Vkusvill' logo can be found in any other store with the manufacturer's packaging at a significantly lower price. Take these candies, for instance – they're made by the same manufacturer:

I've noticed the same thing with their cosmetic products, which are sold under the 'Vkusvill' logo, but you can get them for a lot cheaper under the 'Spivak' logo. I don't buy household chemicals there, but I think it's the same story - some Synergit product just with a different label and a higher price. The rice is exactly the same, in the same cheap transparent packaging with a sticker, and it costs almost twice as much in that store compared to the same rice in another store:

At the time when the rice in Vkusvill cost 115 rubles, you could buy it for 65 rubles in the neighboring store. I never buy nuts or seeds in Vkusvill. The chia seeds, which I order in 1 kg packs for 403 rubles per kg on the marketplace, cost 240 rubles for 200 grams, which is 1200 rubles per kg, almost three times as much! It's the same story with the green rice.

SALE RICE

Since the prices for many products are inflated, it just sits on the shelves until it starts to go bad. And when it starts to go bad, they don't throw it away, they carefully send it to the discount shelf! Why throw away spoiled goods when you can sell them to someone else?

I was shocked by the crazy deals in this sale section. The packaging is so inflated, it's like it's about to burst from fermentation.

There's even broccoli that's so wilted, I don't know who'd buy it like that. And don't even get me started on the collapsed pastries, the crushed tartlets, like someone's stepped on them,

the shriveled asparagus, and the wilted salad.

And they're even trying to sell yogurt with punctured packaging!!! It's not always easy to tell what the heck you're even looking at.

Overpriced Goods

Honestly, if it wasn't for the price tag, I wouldn't have even guessed that the dried mango I usually buy for 1000 rubles per kilogram looked like that.

The freezer section is a perpetual ice age in the worst possible way. What do you think that is? You'd think it's some kind of seafood, but no, it's frozen vegetables. They're not only covered in a layer of snow and ice, but they've also lost their color and appearance.I've already shown you how avocados are sold in the discounted section, but they're not afraid to sell similarly starting-to-go-bad avocados without a discount:

The discounted mango below is even too scary to touch, with mush underneath the wrinkled skin.Rotting fruits and vegetables are displayed prominently in stores:

Want some 'young' cabbage?

I've learned to always shake up the packaging with fruits and veggies before bringing it home, just to make sure I'm not getting any, ahem, less-than-fresh items. At first glance, it's just a bunch of peppers, but if you zoom in (or click on the image a few times), you can see that one of them is completely wilted.

And if you're unlucky enough to have a bottle fall over and get dirty during delivery, well, I guess you just have to put up with it and display it proudly on your kitchen counter!

That's why I've never ordered from Vkusvill for home delivery and don't plan on it - I'd rather not ruin my day with a bunch of hassle.

THE CATCHES AND DECEPTIONS OF VKUSVILL

Check out the celery on the photo above. It's more expensive than regular celery because it's been carefully sliced, just like the broccoli you often see sold in the same state. Let me tell you, I strongly advise against buying them, as there's a good chance they're just cutting off the starting-to-wilt top and root end and selling it to you at a higher price!

If you start to notice that the broccoli is starting to go bad, be sure to cut off the affected florets and get rid of them - it's better to be safe than sorry and end up with a bunch of spoiled veggies!

Honestly, the packaging of this 'carefully hand-crushed' broccoli could've been way pricier! I've never bought veggies-fruits from them before, and I always find them cheaper at other stores with the same quality.xa0

I Loved the Taste, but the Stomach Bug was a Scandal

If Vkusvill's 'Vkusmil' healthy food delivery is legit, I'm not going to try it after the scandal when they found a stomach bug with a count way above normal. I've seen the investigation on Katia Konasova's channel, and even without it, considering all the photos I've shared above, I wouldn't order their ready-to-eat meals.

xa0

Disappointing Vkusvill Products

I wouldn't recommend their dried-fruit lollipops, especially for kids. It's not even about tooth decay from sucking on sugary suckers – these seemingly harmless dried fruits are a nightmare, and you won't even notice it until it's too late!

xa0

I love goat's milk and goat's milk butter, but their goat's milk ice cream was a disappointment – it just didn't taste right (

I was really looking forward to trying the goat's milk ice cream, but unfortunately, it became too watery and had an overpowering 'goat-like' flavor. I love goat cheese ice cream, but I've only had it in restaurants - Vkusvill's version was a major letdown. The cod roe was another disappointment, and I found a weird substance inside. The 'Bird's Milk' cake was another weird experience - it tasted and felt like a cake, but I guess I wasn't the only one who thought so, because they renamed it soon after. The pickled cucumbers were another flavor disaster. But, there are some positives about Vkusvill. They have bins for collecting batteries and plastic bottle caps at the entrance of their stores. I try to recycle, but I'm not willing to go out of my way to do it, so it's nice to see them making it easy. You can choose one favorite product and buy it with a 20% discount, but you need to make a purchase of at least 500 rubles. The discount will be valid for 10 days. Unfortunately, my favorite product is often not available. In the past, if my favorite product wasn't available, I could choose any other product with the same discount. But they've cancelled this bonus for loyal customers. But even my favorite product can't be set as such in the app sometimes. I tried to set 'Сырное' ice cream as my favorite product the other day, but it's not even listed in the app, so I couldn't set it as my favorite. I don't buy veggies, fruits, or grains there at all. I only visit the site for products that are hard to find or not available under the manufacturer's brand in other stores. For example, my favorite edamame, rabbit fillet, unique-flavor ice cream with good ingredients, fava bean ice cream, salty caramel, and cherry ice cream.

You might also be interested in my other reviews:

How we're being deceived in 'Diksi'

All kinds of scams on Wildberries

How Qiwi is stealing money from our accounts without consequences

The only way to remove even peach fuzz forever

My Honest Review of the Ulthera and Ultra Hi Face Lift Apparatus: Is It Worth the Money?

The Most Expensive Cologne in My Collection and Its Pricey Blemish