‘They’re serving air’: Target shopper sees new Favorite Day Strawberry cotton candy just in time for summer. Then they take a closer look
One TikTok user posted a surprising clip of a bag of air. Or wait, a bag with a little bit of cotton candy in it, and then mostly air. In a video by @merylbogdanov with more than 1.2 millions views, she expresses complete shock at the fact that Target’s new Favorite Day Strawberry cotton candy barely contains any cotton candy.
While many people were quick to joke about the bag, saying its for people on diets, others wondered what the point of buying a humidified product even was.
What happened to the cotton candy?
As some comments pointed out, it’s likely that humidity affected the bag and shrunk the cotton candy. Cotton candy has a fragile sugar structure that is easily affected by external conditions. That means heat deflates it when it’s exposed to air.
If the cotton candy was exposed at any point to a higher temperature, it’s also possible that that’s why it shrunk. it’s possible that the cotton candy shrunk during transport if it was exposed at all to the elements.
On Target’s website, it lists that customers should get around 1 oz of cotton candy per bag. Most promotional pictures show a full bag rather than a deflated one, so the deflation is an obvious product error.
The ingredient list for this particular brand of cotton candy contains cornstarch, a known water absorber that ultimately attracts molecules. That’s a likely reason why the bag deflated. This type of cotton candy is more likely to break down faster due to its contents.
So, what’s the price of a bag of air?
TikTok commenters were shocked to find that the bag was only $3, but it still frustrated many who left a word on @merylbogdanov’s post.
@GabaGhoulGirl420 wrote, “$3 for less than a bite of cotton candy. No thanks.”
Other commenters, like Steph, revealed that this is a problem every year the strawberry cotton candy comes out. “I put this in my niece and nephew’s Easter baskets this year and this is what it looked like when they opened it,” she wrote.
Other people wondered why Target would allow the product to remain in-store when it clearly no longer has the advertised amount of food in it.
@A S said, “I’m sure it’s moisture, but (the products) still being on the shelves is hilarious.”
The Mary Sue has reached out to Target and @merylbogdanov for comment.
@merylbogdanov One bite of cotton candy ?? #target #cottoncandy #targetfinds ♬ WTHELLY – Rob49
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