• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • SCB YouTube
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile

  • CORONAVIRUS
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Supply Chains in Crisis
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • REGIONS
    • Asia Pacific
    • Canada
    • China
    • Europe
    • Latin America
    • Middle East/Africa
    • North America
  • THINK TANK
  • WEBINARS
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » Shortages of Beer, Popcorn Join Supply Chain Crisis

Shortages of Beer, Popcorn Join Supply Chain Crisis

The Craft Beer Boom: How to Satisfy Changing Consumer Tastes

Photo: Shutterstock

June 20, 2022
Bloomberg

A shortage of popular food items from popcorn to sriracha is hitting restaurants and grocery shelves this summer, a sign that the world’s immense supply chains are still under pressure. 

Over the past few months, many seemingly random foods have become wildly expensive or unusually hard to find. These include lettuce in Australia, onions and salami in Japan and even bottled beer in Germany, sending businesses scrambling to find alternatives to feed their customers.

The problem is usually not so much a lack of the product itself but more to do with a stretched global supply chain. It’s a whirlwind of factors, from adverse weather to the pandemic to geopolitical tensions and rebounding demand. 

When manufacturers can’t make enough glass bottles and aluminum cans, it trickles down to people’s ability to buy things like soda and beer. A shipping container shortage and tight labor market add to supply chain challenges. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine exacerbated those issues, cutting off supplies of grains and cooking oils, and causing food and energy prices to soar. 

One of the newest additions to the list of hard-to-find items is sriracha. The maker of the iconic sauce, Huy Fong Foods Inc., has been forced to suspend production due to a lack of chili peppers. Consumers are rushing to stock up, with some lamenting the “worst news of the year” and the “end of days.”

users_iqjWHBFdfxIU_itsBm6tAle1Q_v1_piFq5T3pJF0qzS8rF9LjsWaQ_-1x-1.jpgBottles of Sriracha travel on a conveyor belt at the Huy Fong Foods facility in Irwindale, California. Photo: Bloomberg

Beer drinkers in Germany are facing a shortage of bottles, partly because of the war in Ukraine, which supplies brewers with glass. Breweries in the booze-loving nation, which are already paying more for electricity and barley, are urging customers to return their empties, the New York Times reported. 

A dearth of popcorn in the US has also become a source of worry for movie goers as millions make their way to cinemas for the summer blockbuster season. Not only are containers like lids, cups and paper bags in short supply, farmers may also be giving up corn to switch to more lucrative crops. 

Even vegetables are harder to come by. A lettuce shortage in Australia prompted KFC to put cabbage in its burgers. The fast food giant cited supply chain disruptions after heavy flooding in some areas earlier this year. In the UK, McDonald’s had to ration tomatoes, using one slice instead of two. The tomato shortage is due to the high cost of heating greenhouses with gas.

A global potato shortage made headlines after McDonald’s had to halt sales of large-sized fries in several countries as supply chain snarls slowed shipments. Singapore’s KFC restaurants replaced fries with waffle hash. In Kenya, when KFC ran out of fries due to shipping delays, social media users called for a boycott of the fast food chain for not using locally sourced potatoes. 

In Japan, shortages ranged from onions to salami, which meant eateries had to pull certain dishes from their menus. Saizeriya, a chain of family-style Italian restaurants, suspended a grilled chicken entree because of a labor shortage in Thailand. It also discontinued a salami appetizer after Japan suspended pork and cured meat imports from Italy following an African swine fever outbreak.

Madhav Durbha, vice president of supply chain strategy at Coupa Software Inc., said business leaders need to rethink how and where they produce and source from. Through new technologies and better planning, they can reduce potential delays, lost revenues and “constant fire fighting” to manage shortages.

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Global Supply Chain Management Supply Chains in Crisis Consumer Packaged Goods Food & Beverage
  • Related Articles

    ‘People Are Hoarding’: Food Shortages Are The Next Supply Chain Crunch

    Why Shortages of a $1 Chip Sparked a Global Economic Crisis

Bloomberg

Corporate Net-Zero Goals Don’t Add Up to a Net-Zero Planet

More from this author

Wake up to live
“Supply Chains in Crisis”
updates and the latest Supply Chain News!

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • FedEx

    FedEx Faces Big Changes as New Boss Confronts Higher Costs, Angry Contractors

    Last Mile Delivery
  • 0621_Burrito.png

    Chipotle Zeroes in on Supply Chain Traceability and Visibility

    Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
  • cyber crime

    The Cyber Blind Spot That Makes Every Supply Chain Vulnerable

    Regulation & Compliance
  • e-commerce package

    Retailers Need 'Frenemy' Delivery Networks, American Eagle CSCO Says

    Last Mile Delivery
  • coworkers collaborate

    Podcast | Linking Planning and Execution for Real-Time Decision-Making

    Sales & Operations Planning

Digital Edition

Scb may 2022 sm

2022 Supply Chain ESG Guide

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • 3PL Doubles Productivity With Robots to Fulfill Medical Supply Orders

  • E-Commerce Company Cuts Order Fulfillment Time by 40%

  • Fashion Retailer Halves Fulfillment Time With Omichannel Automation

  • Distributor Scales Business by Integrating Warehouse Automaton Software

  • Fast-Growing Fashion Brand Scales E-Commerce Fulfillment With Whiplash

Visit Our Sponsors

Yang Ming Alithya Barcoding
Blue Yonder BNSF Logistics Generix
GEP GreyOrange Here
Honeywell Intelligrated IFM Inmar
Keelvar Kinaxis Korber
Liberty SBF Locus Robotics Logility
Lucas Systems Nvidia Old Dominion
ORTEC Parsyl QIMA
Redwood Logistics Saddle Creek Logistics Schneider Dedicated
Setlog Holding AG Ship4WD Shipwell
Tecsys TGW Systems Thomson Reuters
Tive Trailer Bridge Vecna Robotics
Verity
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • On-Demand Webinars
    • Upcoming Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright ©2022 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing