Tight global supply chain means shortage of summer menus Reuters

Authors: Lisa Beltline and Hilary Russ

Los Angeles/New York (Reuters)-In the United States, it is ice green tea. In Korea, it is French fries.

At least nine fast food chains and catering companies surveyed by Reuters said that some of their locations have been struggling to cope with changes in the list of short-term shortages of key ingredients and products due to supply bottlenecks that plague restaurants.

The list of hard-to-find items includes summer staples such as Vienna sausages and chicken wings, as well as non-food items such as plastic packaging materials and paper bags.

On June 14, the website of Lotteria, Korea’s No. 1 fast food chain, reminded customers that its restaurants will replace its popular French fries with cheese sticks after a power outage caused by inspections of shipping and epidemic-related products.

A spokesperson for Lotteria operator Lotte GRS told Reuters that shipments of French fries to hamburger and fried chicken chains were delayed due to a lack of shipping containers and longer health-related customs inspections.

St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank President James Brad said on Thursday that the supply bottleneck may “continue until 2022” with the reopening of the United States, followed by Europe, and then emerging markets.

The problem is usually not the scarcity of the product itself. Conversely, the network of cargo ships, trains, and trucks is collapsing under the continued pressure of the pandemic—this has also led to facility closures, reduced labor in farms, factories, and warehouses, and led to changes in everything from meat and cooking oil to plastic and glass packaging. All items are in short supply.

Similarly, the rapid increase in COVID-19 vaccines has triggered a surge in demand for meals in restaurants, baseball fields, and other venues, which caught food manufacturers and suppliers by surprise.

Barry Friends, a partner at Pentallect, a food industry consulting firm, said that if restaurants lack core products for a long time, they “may disappoint a large number of customers, allowing them to go elsewhere.”

On Thursday, a Wendy’s (NASDAQ:) franchise in the southern United States stated that he received only half of the lettuce he ordered, while a Subway store in New York City did not have roast beef, grilled chicken, ketchup and spicy mustard. A franchisee source said that some of Yum’s KFC stores occasionally run out of paper bags.

Dutton Restaurant Company (NYSE:), the parent company of Olive Garden Italian Kitchen, cited “some on-site power outages… related to warehouse staffing and driver shortages, not product availability.” A spokesperson declined to disclose which items were temporarily lost, but said that the power outage was “a few restaurants, not our system, and we were able to recover quickly.”

Starbucks (NASDAQ:) said that the shortage is temporary and varies by market and store. A Starbucks in Poughkeepsie, New York, said it has been short of many different products for several months, most recently ice green tea, cinnamon syrup and spinach, feta and egg white rolls.

The company said in a statement: “We will continue to work closely with our supply chain suppliers to replenish goods as soon as possible.” “We recommend that customers use the Starbucks app to check the availability of goods.”

At lunchtime on Thursday, one store in Chipotle, New Jersey (NYSE:) did not have barbacoa and carnitas, but another store nearby did not. The company said that some on-site outages may last “several hours”, but there are no supply issues with its network.

Suzanne Rajczi, CEO of Ginsberg’s Foods, a family-owned business in northern New York, scrambled to place orders for hot dogs, Canadian bacon, and other popular menus as restaurants, cafeterias, and other venues reopened or expanded as COVID-19 restrictions eased service.

The turmoil has affected almost “every product we sell,” Rajczi said, as suppliers catch up, he sees sporadic shortages.

Shane Brennan, chief executive of the Cold Chain Federation, said that in the UK, the pandemic and the post-Brexit blow to immigration has resulted in stores and restaurant chains supplying unpredictable fruits, vegetables and prepared foods.

The return of migrant workers to their home countries has created thousands of vacant jobs throughout the supply chain. Brennan said the restaurant’s reopening is amplifying the impact, and his group represents British companies transporting and storing refrigerated and frozen goods.

“We have dealt with the panic buying phase, we have dealt with the uncertainty of the lockdown. Now, we are trying to complete this work without anyone,” Brennan said.