Viral

Supermarket sells 12 green grapes as part of New Year's Eve tradition - and the internet has thoughts

TikTok/@lottalovet and @ainafitz

As everyone is gearing up for New Year's Eve, some will be buying grapes to eat when the clock strikes midnight.

Now, UK supermarket Tesco has come out with a new product to reflect this tradition, which in recent years has gone viral on TikTok, as shoppers will be able to pick up a NYE pack of 12 grapes for £1.25.

However, the move has sparked mixed reactions on social media as some have praised it as "Genius marketing" while others say it is "consumerism gone too far."

What is the NYE 12 grapes tradition?

This is a Spanish New Year’s Eve tradition known as “uvas de la suerte”, which translates as “the twelve grapes of luck” and dates back to at least 1895.

It appears to originate from Spain, where they kick the New Year off by eating 12 grapes (one for each month) with each of the twelve clock bell strikes and "each grape represents a wish for each of the months of the coming year," according to National Geographic.

On social media, single women can be seen eating the 12 grapes under a table in the hopes that this will bring them luck in the romance department, with some creating videos showing whether or not it worked for them.

@miriana.schr

the first video😭#fyp #videoviral #relationship #trend


What are people saying about the Tesco NYE grapes?

On social media, people, including popular creators such as Angelina and Shivani Khosla, have been posting videos of themselves searching for the viral NYE pack of 12 green grapes in Tesco, which are individually packed.

"Genius marketing from Tescos," TikToker @ainafitz posted, in a video that has over 2.8 million views.


@ainafitz

12 New Year’s Eve grapes? Thank you Tesco 👁️👄👁️



"Tesco sorting out NYE girls night for us," @lottalovet shared,


@lottalovet

Eat your grapes girls 🍇🫶🏼 #Tesco #Nye #Nyegrapes #12grapes #12grapetradition



@jennyferjay posted in her video, "Nothing says. 'UK dating crisis' like Tesco selling women 12 grapes to eat under the table."


@jennyferjay

How did we get here 🥲


However, in the comments section, some viewers weren't impressed with the product as they noted how you can simply just buy a normal punnet of grapes and eat 12 of them, and criticised the amount of plastic used.

One person wrote, "I hate capitalism", which received 20,000 likes.

"Just buy a bunch and take 12 off it?" a second person said.

A third person added, "There's more plastic than grapes."

"Consumerism final boss," a fourth person commented.

But what does everyone in Spain make of their tradition reaching the UK?

"Is my culture a joke now?" one person said.

A second person shared, "I live in Spain. It’s funny seeing this spread to the UK."

"In Spain, we just buy grapes lol, they are no different," a third person commented.

Indy100 has reached out to Tesco for comment

Elsewhere from Indy100, What is the '12 grape theory' for New Year's Eve going viral on TikTok? and This is what colour underwear you should wear on New Year's Eve to manifest in 2026.

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