‘Australia is a joke’: Influencer divides with ‘excessive’ cost of sandwich

A woman has divided social media after revealing the “wild” price she paid at a Perth cafe for a takeaway sandwich and serving of avocado toast.

An Aussie influencer has divided social media after revealing the “wild” price she paid at a Perth cafe for a takeaway sandwich and serving of avocado toast.

In a TikTokvideo, user Mea Jasmin lamented the national cost of living as “a joke” while displaying both meals, which set her back $40.

One sandwich was sliced tomato, smashed avocado, and eggplant between two pieces of bread; while the other was two slices of toast with smashed avocado on the side.

“I’m not even going to say anything, but I ordered smashed avo. I ordered smashed avo, and that is exactly what I got,” she began.

“I’m trying not to laugh. I got a vegan eggplant sandwich. I paid $40, guys. $40. I’m just going to leave it at that. Maybe it tastes amazing.”

Mea’s video, which has been viewed more than 151,000 times, drummed up more than 600 comments – the overriding sentiment of which being Mea was the one at fault for forking out the money on breakfast in the first place.

“$40 for a sandwich. Why did you buy it?” one user questioned.

“Did you not see the price before ordering?” another asked.

To which Mea responded: “The heartbreaking part was that this was my favourite brekkie spot of FIVE YEARS and they had just changed owners and what I was served compared to before was shocking to say the least haha.”

“Doesn’t matter what it looks like if you’re spending $40 on a sandwich you deserve to get sh*t. Don’t pay excessive amounts for something then complain it’s excessive,” a third wrote.

Others said Mea could have made both meals “at home” – for a fraction of the price.

“The problem is that if we pay that (price), they will continue to charge that,” someone else said.

The smashed avocado Mea Jasmin ordered. Picture: TikTok

And the ‘vegan eggplant sandwich’. Picture: TikTok

The woman’s rant comes at a critical juncture for Australia’s hospitality sector.

Last week, credit reporting company CreditorWatch forecast that 9.1 per cent of businesses in the industry will go broke within the next year as consumers tighten their purse strings, and amid warnings the Reserve Bank could be forced to keep interest rates higher for longer to bring inflation under control.

“Businesses have to endure high interest rates long after consumer demand has plummeted, and discretionary spending has significantly weakened,” CreditorWatch chief economist, Anneke Thompson, told The Sydney Morning Herald, describing the situation as a perfect storm.

Independent Food Distributors Australia chief executive Richard Forbes also recently warned customers can expect to pay significantly more for food and beverages if action isn’t taken to address rising business costs.

Distributors have experienced a 30 per cent increase in the cost of food over the last three years, Mr Forbes told news.com.au, which is then reflected in what consumers are charged. Rent, insurance, petrol and energy bills are also on the up.

“Our average members are facing energy bills of $25,000 per month – not per annum, per month,” Mr Forbes said.

“All of those costs have to be absorbed. And at the end of the day, when you have rising energy costs, insurance, rents, fuel and labour costs in the beginning of the supply chain down to the end of it, then the people that end up paying more for their coffees, their piece of carrot cake, their meal at a restaurant, their parmigiana at a pub, are the consumers.”

Cafes should not be blamed for increased prices, one expert said, as businesses are simply trying to survive in an ‘operating environment that is unviable’.

Mr Forbes stressed cafes should not be blamed for increased prices, as businesses are simply trying to survive in an “operating environment that is unviable”.

“They are not increasing prices because they want to make more money,” he said.

“They are only doing raising the prices of their products to survive, it is as simple as that. “And if we don’t see the sort of relief that we need, then the prices of your every day out-of-home products is just going to continue to rise.”

Mr Forbes said governments at the state and federal level need to take urgent action to improve the operating environment for businesses.

“(The government) acknowledges that small businesses, which make up 97 per cent of all businesses, are the engine room of our economy, so the government needs to follow that up with action. We need cheaper energy, and we need it now.”