When it comes to frozen store-bought chicken nuggets, many consider Just Bare’s version to be a cut above the rest. Some customers have described the brand’s Lightly Breaded Chicken Breast Chunks as a dupe for the super popular chicken nuggets from Chick-fil-A—a comparison that sent demand for the product soaring and caused customer-reported shortages in 2021.
Despite garnering such high acclaim in the past, Costco shoppers are starting to report that the nugget quality from Just Bare–which also sells its products online and at other retailers like Wegmans, Sam’s Club, and Stop & Shop–is actually going downhill.
One shopper, for example, reported on Reddit this week that the coating on the nuggets in a newer package seemed “dry and mealy compared to previous batches,” despite preparing them in the exact the same way.
Just bare chicken chunks – has the coating changed?
by u/Syyina in Costco
Others called out the brand for the texture of the actual chicken in newer packages.
“I got hooked on these about a year ago as they were very similar to Chick-fil-A. The last two bags, I got two months ago were absolutely disgusting and I haven’t tried them again since,” a shopper wrote. “Chicken was woody and grey and the breading tasted off. I literally spit out the first bite. No idea why they have such an issue with consistency.”
In a separate Reddit post this week, another Costco customer posted a picture with a side-by-side comparison of older and newer Just Bare nuggets. The older nugget was big and visibly well-breaded, while the newer nugget was much smaller and appeared to have a thin and sparse coating.
“All the new chicken looks like it has no breading,” the customer wrote.
Some Costco shoppers did counter that they haven’t noticed a downturn in the quality of Just Bare’s chicken nuggets. However, there were enough complaints about recurring issues with the chicken texture and breading to indicate that the reported quality problems were more than just an anomaly.
“We’ve also noticed a drastic drop in quality on these and won’t be getting them anymore after our current bag,” another customer wrote on Reddit. “The amount of rubbery pieces and gristle in them now is crazy. Not even remotely similar to Chick-fil-A anymore. This is our third straight bag like this now sadly.”
Just Bare did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the complaints.
This is the latest Costco product to face major criticism regarding its quality. Shoppers recently complained that bagels from Costco’s bakery tend to grow mold mere days after purchasing them. And in February this year, members started to report an off-putting “chemical” taste in the warehouse club’s famous rotisserie chickens.
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Zoe Strozewski
