Supermarket was asking for trouble when it challenged tweeters to finish the sentence 'I shop at Waitrose because...'

When the supermarket chain Waitrose challenged shoppers to "finish the sentence: 'I shop at Waitrose because …' #WaitroseReasons" on Monday, it could not have envisaged the subsequent Twitter storm as internet jokers piled in to ridicule the brand for its posh image.

Instead of saying they preferred the supermarket to rivals for, perhaps, its wide range of organic produce, internet wags posted gags sending it up as a retail temple for the well-heeled. Two of the spoof Twitter recommendations were that the upmarket shop was the best place to pick up unicorn food and 24ct gold thread toilet paper. One posted: "I shop at Waitrose because it makes me feel important and I absolutely detest being surrounded by poor people," and commented: "I also shop at Waitrose because I was once in the Holloway Road branch and heard a dad say 'Put the papaya down, Orlando!'"

Many of the quips ridiculed the high prices at Waitrose, with one saying: "I shop at Waitrose because I think food must automatically be better if it costs three times as much."

Three years ago the chain, which is based in Bracknell, Berkshire, sealed its envied royal connections when it threw a financial lifeline to the Prince of Wales's struggling Duchy Originals food company in a multimillion pound investment deal.

However, there was faint praise for the chain, which is part of the John Lewis partnership, and the only supermarket to trust its customers to "self-scan" their shopping. With an eye on the quality of its grammar, one remarked: "I shop at Waitrose because …" you say "Ten items or fewer" not "Ten items or less", which is important", while genuine comments included: "Because wine is arranged on the shelves by region rather than colour."

Even Waitrose's "green token" scheme, which benefits local charities, was lampooned, with one wag commenting: "I shop at Waitrose because when the economy finally breaks down and dies, those little green tokens will serve as currency."

There was further debate on Twitter as to whether the social media initiative had backfired spectacularly or been hugely successful because of all the attention it attracted. One observer said: "People are saying Waitrose don't quite get Twitter because of #WaitroseReasons hashtag. I think they do. No such thing as bad publicity."

In a rather po-faced statement, Waitrose tweeted: "Thanks for all the genuine and funny #WaitroseReasons tweets. We always like to hear what you think and enjoyed reading most of them."