A New York City influencer, Srinitya, recently went off on Le Parisien Bakery, located on 46th Street just steps away from Times Square.
The TikToker, who goes by “tallbrowngirlll” online, claimed she paid a premium price for a croissant at the cafe, only to find out it might have been a Costco product.
Her viral video quickly sparked outrage, with thousands of viewers questioning whether they'd been paying luxury rates for wholesale pastries.
Highlights
- A digital content creator accused a New York bakery of “literal robbery” for allegedly selling Costco croissants at premium prices.
- The bakery employees strictly denied the viral allegation and shared their side of the story.
- Other restaurants have been accused of rebranding wholesale products as “gourmet” dishes.
“Is this like the pastry equivalent of AI art?” one user commented.
The bakery strongly denied the allegations.
A New York-based influencer accused Le Parisien Bakery of using Costco croissants
Image credits: tallbrowngirlll
On July 20, 2026, the influencer shared a TikTok video of herself sitting at Le Parisien Bakery, which garnered over 22,000 likes.
She claimed that she had ordered a pistachio croissant from the shop, which cost her $12.
“This is insane for a price, she said. “And then I turn around, and this delivery guy just came in.”
Image credits: tallbrowngirl
At this point, her camera flips, and viewers can see a delivery person put down a Costco-branded carton of packaged croissants in front of the cash counter.
“The croissants are from Costco,” the creator said. “Absolutely insane, insane. Don’t come here, I don’t recommend.”
She captioned her video, “Absolute robbery.”
Netizens were “appalled” over the content creator’s allegations
Sreenitya’s video drew significant support from her followers.
Many of them were shocked, but others said they had encountered other confectionery shops doing the same.
“I can’t believe they did that out in the open. At least go through the back,” one said.
Image credits: tallbrowngirll;
Another wrote, “They're totally ripping people off!” A third commented, “They are 50 cents each. That’s 24x the price”
“Any ‘cafe’ or ‘bakery’ that doesn’t bake their own pastries is a pathetic business to me tbh,” said a fourth person.
“Coffee shops are always pulling this,” said a fifth user. Another said, “Well, what were you expecting? That’s 90% of bakeries.”
Le Parisien Bakery staff denied using Costco croissants
Le Parisien Bakery’s official website claims that they sell “house-made pastries, crafted with the utmost care and using only the finest ingredients.”
After Sreenitya’s post went viral, the bakery pushed back against the narrative in their statements to media outlets.
“We just reuse Costco boxes, just for carrying [the croissants],” one employee told The US Sun, adding that the bakery makes its own fresh pastries every day.
Image credits: Marcus Reubenstein/Unsplash (Not the actual photo)
“All our croissants are baked at our company’s location in Coney Island,” the employee said. “They bring them to us every morning… They just use the boxes. That’s it.”
The employee also said that the bakery does not have its own fleet of delivery trucks or special containers to move bakery items, and reuses the cartons whenever they receive goods in them: “It could be from Costco, it could be the cold drinks.”
When asked directly whether the bakery was denying the influencer’s viral claim, the staffer replied, “Yeah, exactly.”
Another “foodfluencer” investigated the allegations made against Le Parisien Bakery
Image credits: Ngo Ngoc Khai Huyen/Unsplash (Not the actual photo)
The US Sun article reported that their on-site journalist saw the Le Parisien staff remove a full tray of croissants when they arrived.
It was replaced with another tray of croissants that looked freshly glazed. The reason behind the swap was not known.
The employee the outlet spoke with disputed the rumor that all their croissants cost $12.
They said that plain varieties are priced at $5-$6, while elaborate varieties, such as a Nutella-and-banana version, cost $12.50 after tax.
NYC food influencer Sam E. Goldberg, who has 12,600-plus Instagram followers, visited the bakery to investigate the cost himself.
“My croissant cost $5,” he wrote, showing off a plain butter croissant and adding in the video that he found it delicious and worth his money.
Le Parisien Bakery is not the first eatery to have faced such accusations
Image credits: bookofelie
In 2017, Kimberly Sanchez, the owner of Sweet Dixie Kitchen in Long Beach, California, defended using Popeye’s fried chicken in the restaurant’s chicken-and-waffles brunch dish.
“I am owning this,” Sanchez told ABC News at the time. “I love their chicken. It’s the best I’ve ever had.”
In 2026, Coquin in Charleston, South Carolina, faced criticism for allegedly selling $2 frozen pizzas for $18.
Image credits: Alan Hardman/Unsplash (Not the actual photo)
The restaurant, which is now closed, advertised them as house-made “gourmet Roman-style” pizzas.
The Post and Courier reported finding four-pack boxes of Kirkland Signature Cheese Pizza with Breadcrumb Crusts inside the restaurant’s trash cans.
When asked about it, chef and owner Chip Grimalda told the outlet, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s definitely not Costco, and that’s all I have to say.”
"It's crazy to do this while they're open." The internet ripped into the Le Parisien after the influencer's viral Costco allegation
