Whole Foods' $6 Asparagus Water Is Just Water With Three Stalks of Asparagus in It

Is Whole Foods trolling its own employees?

Explain yourself http://pic.twitter.com/my4hpaoemE

— Layla Dhere (@dhere) August 3, 2015

Twitter user Layla Dhere (@dhere) expressed confusion in a recent tweet featuring the above image of a row of bottles of what is labeled "Asparagus Water" on a shelf. The bottles appear to be filled with water and three stalks of raw asparagus. They are priced at $5.99 each. Dhere is right to be confused.

"The nutrients from the asparagus do transfer into the water."

The labels say Whole Foods, and the date on the bottles is current. A call to the supermarket (these particular bottles are from the Whole Foods in Brentwood, Calif. though in the New York City area grocery delivery service Instacart lists Asparagus Water) at first produced some confusion. The operator denied the product existed; eventually she transferred the call to a gentleman in the produce department who did not want to give his name. He explained that the product was new, "We've had them on the shelf for the last few days." When asked how the new item is made, he said, "It's water, and we sort of cut asparagus stalks down so they're shorter, and put them into the container." When Eater asked what it was for, there was a long pause before he said, "Well, it's... to drink." He elaborated, "The nutrients from the asparagus do transfer into the water."

As a point of comparison, Whole Foods has whole bundles of asparagus on sale for about $5.

A search for asparagus water doesn't produce any recipes or news articles; it's seemingly not a common item. And the Whole Foods' employees Eater spoke to said it was not a product that had been requested by customers. Eater has reached out to Whole Foods' corporate office for comment. Will Whole Foods' Asparagus Water be sold for $3.99 at its new lower-priced 365 markets?

But perhaps the pricey grocer is ahead of the game and vegetable water is the new bone broth? Or, Whole Foods is trolling its own employees, and ripping off customers as usual.

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