Photos of Gucci & Bvlgari delivering veggies to customers locked down in Shanghai is winning the internet. But, are these memes or client servicing?

As the financial capital of China, Shanghai, comes to a screeching halt yet again thanks to a lockdown imposed due to a spike in coronavirus cases, a strange phenomenon has taken over the internet.

Many residents of the locked down Chinese city are sharing photos of exquisite vegetable and fruit baskets, foods and cakes cooked by Michelan star restaurants cooks, and claiming that they have received the goodies from luxury brands like Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Bvlgari and Cartier.

According to a report in Global Times – an English language Chinese newspaper – some luxury brands in Shanghai are apparently sending vegetable and fruit baskets to their loyal customers, as the strict loaddown makes it harder for many to get vegetables easily.

The report claims that these luxury brands have bought large amounts of fruits, vegetables and other cooking staples, as well as some exotic cakes and packed them beautifully and arranged them in fancy baskets to send to their customers. However, the news outlet claimed that it had taken this information from a local paper, and could not verify the validity if the news is true.

While luxury brands going out of their ways for client servicing is not unheard of, what throws this entire report’s validity into question is the counterclaim made by outlets like Jing Daily – a news platform that covers the luxury market of China – that these photos are nothing more than memes.

The news outlet claims that as the city of Shanghai goes through lockdown, the price of vegetables and fruits have escalated so much that citizens are comparing them to luxury goods, and making memes on them.