Man reviews hundreds of pounds worth of Easter eggs to raise awareness about cost of living

A father who went viral for spending more than £500 on Easter eggs hopes to raise awareness about the rising cost of chocolate amid the cost-of-living crisis.

Billy D’Souza, 32, from Southampton in Hampshire, has more than 108,000 followers on TikTok under the name Big Daddy Bs Foods, where he reviews various food items including expensive Easter eggs.

Mr D’Souza started the series last year spending £550 on 21 eggs which was watched by more than 4.2 million people on TikTok, and decided to bring back the series for another year to raise awareness about the cost of chocolate.

His video, reviewing 16 eggs costing £275 in total, shows him breaking each chocolate in half to reveal the centre, a description of how it tastes, a score out of 10 based on the quality of the chocolate, the flavour and the price, and his overall ranking starting from his least favourite to his number one egg.

Billy D’Souza reviews various food items on TikTok where he has more than 108,000 followers (Billy D’Souza/PA)

“I thought it was a great idea to show people what you get for your money, what’s good and not so good about it, so people can actually decide what they want to spend their hard-earned money on,” he told the PA news agency.

“The cost of living nowadays is so expensive. I know there’s a lot of people out there, especially with big families, who don’t have the money to waste on loads of Easter eggs.”

He joked that “normal people in their right minds” would be not buy eggs costing £85 to £100, but said many viewers are interested in seeing “what you get for £85 and whether it is really worth it”.

“I am surprised (by the cost of Easter eggs), but equally, the way things are going it keeps going up every year,” he said.

He said he reviewed a 4kg egg last year which cost £100 at the time, but said this year it cost him £225 “because of all the increases in ingredients”.

“That means it’s an increase of 125% in one year which is crazy,” he said.

Some of Mr D’Souza’s videos showcase intricately designed eggs shaped like giant croissants or custard cream biscuits, but he said Easter chocolates were much simpler when we was a child.

“When we were children, we would get an egg and maybe with a mug and it would be pretty simple. Maybe as you got older you might get an egg and two bars of chocolates, but now you get many different things in them,” he said.

“With social media and popularity – and that’s across the board with everything whether that’s Halloween, Christmas or Easter – everything is bigger and better, and it’s all about drawing people in and the wow factor.

“Bigger is always better, or that’s the way it’s perceived. Every year, things seem to get whackier, crazier and more mental.”

Mr D’Souza admits there are a lot of leftovers after reviewing for his videos, but said he distributes the chocolates to family and to disadvantaged members of the local community.

“My sister works in a school with underprivileged children and children in poverty, so I give a lot to her as well to give to the children,” the content creator said.

He said he also gives “a huge percentage of Easter eggs” to his son’s school where his wife is part of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA) as they often host raffles to raise money for the school.

Billy D’Souza went viral on TikTok last year after reviewing 21 Easter eggs costing £550 (Billy D’Souza/PA)

While he said some online users “whinge about the price of eggs” he reminds them that he does not “dictate the price of the eggs” but said the majority of people are supportive of his videos with many suggesting eggs to review.

While he enjoys making videos to see if the eggs “live up to my expectations or the hype”, he also loves giving back to the community.

“I love enjoying it myself but I love giving back to my followers and the community so they can see for themselves where they want to spend their hard-earned money,” he said.

“Money is really tight at the moment, worse than ever. I feel like I’m doing a good service to show people these Easter eggs.”