Grape-Nuts shoppers who paid inflated prices amid pandemic could get reimbursement

Grape-Nuts shoppers who paid inflated black-market prices for the cereal during a shortage amid the COVID-19 pandemic could soon be eligible for reimbursement, the cereal maker said this week.

Post Consumer Brands, the brand’s parent company, said in an announcement on Tuesday it will be shipping the cereal at full capacity to stores across the country after it said some fans paid inflated prices for the cereal, which it noted “reached up to $110 a box on the secondary market,” during a pandemic-related shortage.

“It became abundantly clear during the shortage that Grape-Nuts fans are ‘Nuts for Grape-Nuts,’ ” Kristin DeRock, Grape-Nuts brand manager at Post Consumer Brands, said in a statement obtained by The Hill on Wednesday. 

“So much so that some of our loyal super fans were willing to pay extreme prices just to ensure they wouldn’t be without their favorite crunchy cereal. As a way to show our appreciation and thank these fans for their dedication, we want to repay the love by reimbursing them,” she added.

Many social media users remarked about not knowing of the cereal shortage during the pandemic, and how third-party retailers had taken advantage of the lack of supply.

There was Grape Nuts shortage AND a black market? https://t.co/3Qat8su9UD pic.twitter.com/KVe8in3i5f

— itsallrealitv (@itsallrealitv) March 24, 2021

I remember when I first became a Grape Nuts dealer during the pandemic.

I’m actually the one who figured out you could cut ’em with gravel and no one knew the difference.

scheloouuu, hey yo, I got them G-nuts. You good? pic.twitter.com/y6ceylTGvH

— Mic Blades (@MicBlades1) March 24, 2021

The company said shoppers who paid at least $10 for “a box of Grape-Nuts Original cereal between Nov. 1, 2020, and March 15, 2021, are eligible to submit a valid retailer or e-retailer receipt for a partial refund of up to $115 to help cover the difference between the amount paid and the suggested retail price of the Grape-Nuts Original cereal box purchased.”

The company is inviting eligible customers to submit their receipts online before April 15.

According to USA Today, the news comes after some third-party sellers had been posting inflated prices for the cereal on Walmart, Amazon and eBay amid the shortage earlier this year.