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The long line for Kalshi’s free groceries taught me people care more about affordability than prediction markets

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The long line for Kalshi’s free groceries taught me people care more about affordability than prediction markets

Henry Chandonnet is pictured in Kalshi's grocery store.
Excuse my beet-red face. It just braved almost two hours waiting in a freezing cold line.

Henry Chandonnet/Business Insider

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  • I went to Kalshi's free groceries event. The line took almost two hours.
  • Attendees got $50 to spend at New York's Westside Market, where prices were high.
  • In line, most of the people I spoke to had never heard of Kalshi or predictions markets. They just wanted free food.

About an hour into my wait for Kalshi's free groceries event, I could no longer feel my toes.

It was 30 degrees in New York with a fierce windchill, and I was in line for $50 in free groceries from a betting site. My neighbor in line kept wiping away tears.

In ultra-expensive New York, cheap groceries are hard to come by. My last bill at the Lidl in Park Slope — the most affordable grocery store in my neighborhood — was over $70. I could understand why New Yorkers bundled up at the prospect of $50 in grocery credit and waited for hours. And hours.

The prediction market is in grocery-off with Polymarket. Kalshi promised "open markets" at Westside Market — so long as you spent under $50.

With my teeth chattering, I chatted with my line-mates. Almost nobody I spoke to had heard of Kalshi. Nobody cared. They just wanted free food.

So did the marketing stunt work? It certainly drew hundreds of people — scroll on for a peek inside Kalshi's event.

Approaching Westside Market, the line stretched for blocks.
The line outside the Westside Market on E 12 St is pictured.

Henry Chandonnet/Business Insider

I arrived at Westside Market right before 1 p.m., about an hour after the store opened.

As I approached, I overheard some oohs and ahs at the gargantuan line. It flowed up Third Ave, all the way along 12th St, and then wrapped back around Fourth Ave.

A confession: I'm not a line person. I don't believe in waiting for sample sales or hot restaurants or TikTok-viral shops. This would be a challenge for me.

I made it to the back of the line, where I noticed a divide.
The back of the line for the Kalshi grocery is store is pictured.

Henry Chandonnet/Business Insider

At the back of the line, crypto influencers immediately swarmed around me. While filming, one said that it took "an hour" to reach the back of the line. (It did not.)

The crypto influencers were among several new-age bro-types to approach the line but not actually enter it. These were the people who seemed to care about online betting and prediction markets. Most of those in line around me did not; they just wanted groceries.

On multiple occasions, I saw men walk up to the line and say something like: "Is this for Kalshi?" The people in line would go silent or respond, "It's for free food."

Kalshi and Westside Market employees tended to the line with hot coffee.
A man pouring out hot coffee is pictured at Kalshi's grocery store.

Henry Chandonnet/Business Insider

Kalshi employees existed, though they were hard to spot.

Like many next-gen tech companies, Kalshi is pumping out suave, minimalist merch. Some of their baseball caps have logos; others have the word "Kalshi" stacked into (admittedly stylish) text. But employees only identified themselves with these caps, making it difficult to clock them.

At one point, employees came around with hot coffee. My cold, cold line-mates were grateful.

Later, Kalshi hat-wearers came around with big QR codes to scan. If we downloaded the Westside Market app, the $50 would be added to our accounts, and we could avoid waiting in the cold.

We filled out the Google Form, but many remained skeptical about giving up their spot in line. Most people around me stayed.

I learned that waiting in line in New York is a humiliation ritual.
A man recording the line for the Kalshi grocery store is pictured.

Henry Chandonnet/Business Insider

There are probably over 50 videos of me floating around on the internet, with my nose dripping and my face flushed red.

Want to see how big the internet economy has grown? Get in a line in New York. There were cameras everywhere. Influencers ran up and down the line, trying (and often failing) to speak to those queued up. Kalshi also filmed its own content, as seen above. Some TV stations also filmed the opening.

Then again, I'm not that different. I was also taking pictures of the line.

Meet my line neighbor, Bryn Durham
Henry Chandonnet is pictured with Bryn Durham in line.

Henry Chandonnet/Business Insider

I bonded with my line-mate, Bryn Durham, about spirituality and the rising price of food.

Durham said he worked as a psychic medium and foot reflexologist. He grew up in New York, but spent about 20 years living outside Boston. His neighbor in Gramercy Park told him about the grocery promotion.

We spent a while thinking — maybe even fantasizing — about what we would buy. Durham planned to pick up some $9.99 sandwiches in the spirit of living it up a little.

I asked: Do you know about Kalshi? "About what?" he responded. What about prediction markets? "No, nothing."

Alas, there was an inside portion of the line!
The inside portion of the line is pictured at the Kalshi grocery store.

Henry Chandonnet/Business Insider

After about 90 minutes, I had made it to the inside portion of the line. It wasn't particularly warmer, but it did prove that the end was in sight.

This was where I really had to lock in. I had just a few minutes left in my audiobook (thank you for the distraction, Emily Chang) and could no longer wiggle my toes.

I waited, and waited, until I reached the front.

The Westside Market was quiet — and I realized why the line moved so slowly.
The entrance of the Kalshi grocery store is pictured.

Henry Chandonnet/Business Insider

I made it inside! It was an incredible, cathartic moment. This must be what it feels like to finish a marathon or get to the top of a Taiwan skyscraper.

Durham and I spent much of the line fretting about what the inside would look like. Would the shelves be wiped out? But the store was quite orderly, almost quiet.

This is why the line was moving so slowly, I realized. They were keeping the inside calm by leaving the chaos on the outside.

Where was all the Kalshi branding in the store?
Kashi is pictured at the Kalshi grocery store.

Henry Chandonnet/Business Insider

I expected Westside Market to be more Kalshi-ed out.

I spotted three big Kalshi posters in the store. One of these signs — the cover photo for this article — was tucked far away in the back of the store by the cleaning supplies. Mostly, it just looked like a grocery store.

I got a quick laugh when spotting a bunch of Kashi cereal. So close.

With $50 to spend, people were being selective.
The empty beverage aisle is pictured at the Kalshi grocery store.

Henry Chandonnet/Business Insider

With $50 to ration across the store, people seemed to be judicious about their grocery choices. Some aisles were more full than others.

Meat and poultry were heavily dug through, and the premade meals were also popular. Produce was less so.

The emptiest section, by far, was the beverages aisle. Nobody seemed willing to waste a chunk of their $50 on a frivolous kombucha.

Want to talk about affordability? These groceries were expensive.
The checkout counter at Kalshi's free grocery pop-up is pictured.

Henry Chandonnet/Business Insider

Fifty bucks isn't what it used to be.

Prices around the store were sky high. Most premade foods that I saw — mac and cheese, chicken tenders, wings — started at $9. Beef prices are surging, and the store's red meat options were often around $15.

Mass market, processed foods weren't much cheaper. I spotted $9 chips, $8 cookie dough.

Of course, New York is an expensive city — but Westside Market is especially expensive. It struck me as a bit odd for an event that ostensibly recognized the affordability crisis to take place in such a high-priced grocery store.

Waiting in line, I heard more than a few jokes about Zohran Mamdani's city-run grocery store idea. Would Mamdani's store charge $9 for a pack of Oreos? (If I were a betting man on prediction markets, my money would be on no.)

Leaving the store, I felt triumphant.
Henry Chandonnet is pictured leaving the Kalshi grocery store.

Henry Chandonnet/Business Insider

Checkout was easy. (I donated my "purchases" to a local community fridge due to our newsroom policy on accepting free gifts.)

My general takeaway: I'm still surprised at how little Kalshi was referenced. I wouldn't be surprised if most of the grocery shoppers never heard or thought of Kalshi once. It seemed to play better for the brand on X than in person.

Still, everyone was grateful for their free food.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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