A woman reveals the $12 worth of food that she received in her mystery bag as part of Circle K’s new partnership with Too Good To Go. However, not everyone is convinced it’s a good deal.
What are Too Good To Go mystery bags?
In 2018, Circle K partnered with Too Good To Go (TGTG), a company that aims to reduce food waste. This year, thousands of Circle K locations were added to the TGTG app, allowing customers to order “surprise bags” of food at an average price of $5.
“Too Good To Go bag at Circle K, round two. Let’s see what I got,” TikTok user Heather (@cosmicdealheather) says while sitting in her car. Before going through the bag, she gives a bit of information about the deal.
“If you don’t know what Too Good To Go is, it’s an app where you [get] a discount for food that is expiring or short-dated. Circle K’s is a $4 mystery bag for $12 plus dollars in food,” she explains.
What is in the Circle K mystery bag?
Each mystery bag contains different items, and in her video, Heather reveals what she received in hers.
“First up is a turkey and Swiss cheese sandwich roll,” she says. Heather notes that the sandwich expires on Sept. 18, the next day. But, she says someone in her family would eat it before it goes bad.
“Next up, I got nuts and chocolate trail mix,” Heather says. The customer then takes out a bag of Circle K brand pork crackling, which expires on Sept. 26.
“Last but not least, I got a slice of pound cake,” she says. She holds the slice of cake with an expiry date of Sept. 28.
Heather claims that she didn’t receive as many items as the first time she tried the app. But the customer was still content with her haul.
“The value is there,” she argues. “One of those items alone is $4. I would think this is a good value.”
@cosmicdealheather Replying to @Cosmic Heather 🛸 Viral Yapper I like what I got this time! Circle K Too Good To Go bags are a pretty good deal. #toogoodtogo #toogoodtogoapp #mysterybag #unboxing #unboxingvideo #circlek #frugal #frugalliving #fun #surprisebag ♬ original sound – Cosmic Heather 🛸 Viral Yapper
The video gathered over 55,000 views. Viewers shared their mixed experiences with Circle K’s Too Good To Go mystery bags. Some said they hit the jackpot.
“Circle k is like the only thing on my too good to go,” one viewer wrote.
“We got a chicken sandwich, chips and a three pack of their cookies,” a second stated.
However, some viewers claimed that they had negative experiences with the scheme at Circle K.
“I tried the circle k mystery bag and got 2 candy bars and 2 packs of Oreos,” one user remarked.
“Tried it today and Circle K had no idea what I was talking about. Left with nothing and am trying to get a refund now. was very disappointed,” another wrote.
“I’ve tried it twice and refunded twice,” a third shared.
Is Circle K’s mystery bag a hit or miss?
The jury is still out on this one. In August, another Circle K customer swore off Too Good To Go’s mystery bags for a number of reasons. For one, she claimed that many stores weren’t even aware of the partnership. She also experienced harassment from workers at various partnered stores.
To add insult to injury, the customer did not receive a response when she emailed the company with her complaints. The final nail in the coffin was when she noticed a decline in the quality of the food.
On a Too Good To Go subreddit, another Circle K shopper complained that they received one single cheeseburger in mystery bag worth $3.99. However, in a response that received the most upvotes another user claimed that they had received two “really decent” mystery bags in one week.
Update: Heather told the Daily Dot this took place at a Circle K in Ohio and that she discovered about Too Good To Go through TikTok.
“People are always sharing what they got and it looked fun. And I love a good deal,” she said. “I’ll definitely keep trying it.”
The Daily Dot reached out to Circle K and Too Good To Go via email.
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