Woman Buys Kraft’s Gluten-Free Mac and Cheese Boxes — Notices Main Ingredient Missing Inside

“You mac me smile.” Millions of people in America dedicate this message to their lover or crush while gifting a blue-yellow box of Kraft’s Mac and Cheese on Valentine’s Day. The brand claims that these elbow-shaped strands of macaroni can accomplish feats that even the toughest of meditation practices can’t, like healing your inner child and transporting you into a universe of deliciousness. However, when Abby Kreger (@aceengel) bought some of these blue boxes, the contents caused her to wonder whether the macaroni and cheese had filed for a divorce, because each time she opened a box, there was just the macaroni, not cheese.

The strange incident unfolded during October 2024 when Kreger visited a store and purchased a box of gluten-free Kraft Mac & Cheese. When she returned home and ripped open the box, the cheese packets were missing. Being a fan, she dismissed it in a limbo, and simply visited another store and bought another box. Again, she opened the box. The cheese packets were missing. "The first two boxes I opened were one after another, and I just thought it was weird. A little bummer, because I really wanted mac and cheese," she shared in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE.

She reached out to the company, and they gave her a coupon for gluten-free macaroni and cheese. But soon, she realized that their coupon seemed to be like a rubber band-aid. It didn’t work, as she wrote in the caption of her TikTok video. When she bought a third and a fourth box using this coupon, the experience was just the same. There were no cheese packets inside. “I’m gluten free and I’ve got four boxes of gluten-free Kraft mac-n-cheese that do not have a sauce packet inside,” she said in the video. “I can’t even eat mac-n-cheese without cheese. I need the cheese packet. And giving me the coupon isn’t going to solve the problem if you’re not going to put the packets in the box.”

The video left mac-and-cheese fans shocked. Several said that the absence of cheese packets could be due to the “gluten-free” option. Others expressed surprise because they never found this discrepancy while buying Kraft’s mac and cheese. Many customers jumped in to support the company. “Side note: Walmart's gluten-free Mac and cheese is pretty good, and I’ve never not had a sauce packet,” said @wrennly. @ssg_redneck chimed in to share an entirely contrasting experience, “I bought a box and got four cheese sauces and thought I was just lucky.”

According to PEOPLE, the company responded to this video with the comment, "Hello. We apologize for this issue. We're not having any quality issues with our gluten-free Kraft Mac & Cheese." Larry, an executive from the company, reached out to Kreger to understand her situation and offer apologies. Kreger said she was grateful for the support she received, both from people and the company. "I truly feel like these companies and strangers on the Internet supporting me have proven that there is not only a seat at every table for gluten-free people, but food at every table for us as well," she said.

You can follow Abby Kreger (@aceengel) on TikTok for cat-related content.