Woman Stumped When Kraft Gluten-Free Mac & Cheese Boxes Are Missing Key Ingredient — How the Mystery Went Viral (Exclusive)

• Abby Kreger was diagnosed with celiac disease in March 2020
• On October 1st, a Michigander went to buy a box of Kraft gluten-free mac & cheese. After buying the box and returning home, she discovered that the package of cheese was missing
• When that happened three more times, Kreger, who is originally a cat content creator and runs a cat nonprofit, turned to TikTok
• Since she went public about the situation, her videos have gone viral, garnering millions of views and thousands of comments, including Kraft’s

A woman is going viral on TikTok after discovering multiple boxes of gluten-free Kraft Mac & Cheese that were missing packages of cheese.

It all started when Abby Kreger, who was diagnosed with celiac disease in March 2020, went to the grocery store on Oct. 1 to buy a box of Kraft gluten-free mac & cheese. After buying the box and returning home, she discovered that the package of cheese was missing. She then went to another store and bought another box, only to find that there was no cheese packet in it either.

“The first two boxes I opened were one after the other and I just thought it was weird,” the 29-year-old tells PEOPLE exclusively. “Too bad, because I really wanted mac and cheese.”

Abby Kreger in a “gluten hates me” tracksuit.

Courtesy of Abby Kreger

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Kreger later told her mom about the situation; she suggested her daughter submit a form on Kraft’s website to report the problem. Kraft sent her coupons in response. Using the coupons, the Michigan resident went to two more stores in November to buy additional boxes of mac & cheese, but again found the boxes missing the basic package of cheese.

“The third time it happened, I thought, ‘Okay, am I cursed?’ Then when it happened the fourth time, I was kind of annoyed,” she says. “It went on for a while and I thought, ‘There must be something wrong at the factory and my patterns aren’t getting to the right people.’ I wanted someone outside of customer service to hear from me so they could resolve the issue.”

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So Kreger, who is originally a cat content creator and runs the nonprofit Pet Angel Adoption & Rescue, turned to TikTok to share her story. Although she expected the video to reach her followers, she didn’t think it would go viral and garner millions of views. Her initial TikTok even caught the attention of Kraft, who left a comment apologizing for the situation.

“Greetings. We apologize for this issue. We have no issues with the quality of our gluten-free Kraft Mac & Cheese,” the brand wrote on her video, which has since garnered more than 8,000 other comments.

Abby Kreger with Stouffer’s.

Courtesy of Abby Kreger

When Kreger saw Kraft’s comment, she was “shocked.” She eventually received a phone call from the company’s CEO, Larry, who took the time to learn more about the situation.

“He was kind and considerate, just like me!” she says. “I know you can’t get anything done by being rude, so my approach was to ‘kill them with kindness’ and he actually told me I was one of the nicest customers with a complaint he’d ever spoken to!”

“I went from feeling devalued, isolated and hurt by a brand that meant so much to me, to thanking him for his generosity and kindness by calling me personally.”

“Our team has reached out to Abby to apologize for her experience and make things right,” a Kraft spokesperson told PEOPLE. “We are working closely with our response teams to ensure that all future inquiries are treated with the care and respect they deserve. Our quality assurance team is also diligently investigating the production issue to determine the root cause and resolve it.”

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Since announcing the situation, Kreger adds that she has been approached by 12 companies (13, if you count Kraft): Stouffer’s, Goodles, Banza, California Pizza Kitchen, Philhatesgluten, Roni’s Mac Bar, Instacart, Annie’s Homegrown, Ultima, Craftmix, Brazi Bites and Violife .

Kreger says that while she’s grateful to have talked to each company and received samples from them, it’s never been about the free products for her.

“I want to make that clear,” Kreger says. “This was about Kraft fixing a warehouse problem so that I, along with every other gluten-free person who loves their mac and cheese, could continue to enjoy it. This was about advocating for the gluten-free and celiac community, and making them to care about us as much as their customers who eat gluten.”

Abby Kreger smiles for the camera.

Courtesy of Abby Kreger

Kreger adds that as she continues to post updates about the situation on TikTok, she’s received thousands of comments from strangers, which have helped convince her of the overwhelming support for the gluten-free community.

“Honestly, when I was diagnosed with celiac disease, something in my heart snapped,” she says. “In our society, every gathering with friends, holidays or family events revolves around food. And now I couldn’t eat the same food as everyone else. It made me extremely isolated.”

“This whole situation has really healed that part of my heart,” he adds. “I’m so gracious, grateful, and amazed at the amount of love I’ve received in the last 24 hours! There have been millions of views, hundreds of thousands of comments, tons of videos made about the situation, and hundreds of DMs sent to me — each one encouraging, kind, loving and support.”

“I really feel like these companies and strangers on the internet who support me have proven that there is not only a place at every table for people who don’t eat gluten, but food at every table for us,” she continues.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education