Overview

The Walmart Heart Cake Controversy refers to a viral internet controversy over Walmart's affordable vintage heart cakes in early 2025, sparked after some small bakers on TikTok posted videos claiming that having a birthday cake is a "luxury" and that Walmart can undercut small bakers on the price of the dessert, thus putting their small businesses at risk while serving a lower-quality product. While some bakers supported these opinions, others criticized the bakers for "poor shaming" people who might not be able to afford a cake from an independent bakery.

Background

In mid-to-late January 2025, some TikTokers began posting videos about Walmart's affordable vintage heart-shaped cakes. For example, on January 20th, TikToker^[1] @r7_phantomm posted a video celebrating their cake, which is priced at $24.99, garnering over 2.3 million views in a month.

Some commenters celebrated the price compared to independent bakery prices. For example, one of the top comments on the video, with over 7,000 likes, posted on January 29th, reads, "Me who paid $165 for mine."

On January 29th, 2025, TikToker^[2] @shalimarj1994, a Walmart employee, posted a video of herself decorating a "vintage heart cake," garnering over 36,000 views in three weeks.

As early as that same day, now-private TikToker^[3] @birdysbakery posted a video criticizing Walmart's vintage heart cakes, which she claims run between 5$ and $25. In specific, she criticizes people who complain about the higher prices at small bakeries.

In the video, she claims she doesn't care about them underselling her and doesn't mean to shame people for buying the cakes. She then says that it "grinds her gears" that commenters under videos of the Walmart cakes complain about the price that independent bakeries charge for heart cakes. She says "they know their worth" and explains that independent bakers use better ingredients, making them more expensive.

She also says Walmart probably pays their bakers less and that their bakers are probably less talented. She also calls having a birthday cake a luxury. The video, which became the main subject of the drama, was reuploaded by TikToker^[4] @rosemarysbabybtch that day, garnering over 100,000 views in two weeks.

Online Reactions

The video inspired drama on TikTok going into early February 2025, with some bakers supporting the idea that Walmart's cakes hurt small bakeries, while others criticized the small bakers for complaining, claiming they're "poor shaming" people who can't afford small bakery prices.

For example, on February 2nd, 2025, TikToker^[5] and baker @cakesbynams posted a video supporting the small bakers, saying that some of the Walmart cakes "look like Doritos" and explaining how Walmart doesn't care if they lose money on the cakes because they make so much money in general. She added that small bakers can't follow this method and discourages people from complaining about small bakers' prices.

On February 13th, TikToker^[6] @a.niita posted a video criticizing the way that small bakers contribute to the Walmart heart cake drama by repeating that it's okay if you can't afford their cakes, repeatedly using the word "broke" to suggest that these small bakers are poor shaming those who can't afford their cakes, garnering over 1.1 million views in four days.

On February 15th, 2025, TikToker^[7] @calebcooks94 posted a video sarcastically supporting small bakers in the Walmart heart cake drama, suggesting that small bakers are ripping people off and using ingredients from Walmart, garnering over 4.2 million views in two days.

On February 16th, TikToker^[8] @reyahthelastdragon posted a video about the drama, criticizing the idea of a birthday cake being a luxury and claiming that some small bakers use the same ingredients as Walmart, garnering over 4.8 million views in a day.

Search Interest

External References