Hot sauce and tampon shortages top growing list of out-of-stock items

See what’s clicking on FoxBusiness.com.

Consumers, already plagued by rising prices, now have to worry about product shortages.

A handful of popular products have become harder to find in recent months, and more could be added to the list.

FOX Business takes a look at the consumer crisis.

tampons

A spokesman for Tampax, which is part of P&G, told FOX Business in a statement that this “is a temporary situation and the Tampax team is producing tampons 24/7 to meet the increased demand for our products.”

BABY FOOD SHORTAGES: SOLD OUT QUOTA SOARS TO 70%

The company says it’s working with retail partners to maximize availability, which “has increased significantly over the past few months.”

However, social media users have drawn attention to this.

“Is there a tampon shortage or something? I’ve just been to five different Walgreens and the shelves are CLEARED,” said one Twitter user.

Walgreens told FOX Business that it is working with its suppliers to ensure its stores have inventory.

“However, similar to other retailers, we are experiencing temporary shortages of branded tampons in certain regions,” the company said. “While we will continue to have product on shelves and online, it may only be in certain brands while we manage the supply disruption.”

NATIONAL SRIRACHA SAUCE shortages can result in a spiceless summer for some

CVS also told FOX Business that in recent weeks there have been “instances where suppliers have not been able to fulfill the full volume of orders placed,” but the company is “working with suppliers to ensure we can.” have a sufficient stock of tampons in our shops.”

The company added that if a store is temporarily out of certain products, “it will work to restock those items as soon as possible.”

baby food

Parents aren’t getting much of a break as the out-of-stock rate for baby formula rose to 73% nationwide in the week ended May 29, according to the latest data from retail data firm Datasembly. This is a significant increase from earlier in the month when the national baby food out-of-stock rate was 45%.

Retailers were forced to place purchase restrictions on the products as shelves remained empty.

Yury Navas, 29, of Laurel, Md., kisses her two-month-old baby Jose Ismael Galvez at the Superbest International Market in Laurel, Md., May 23, 2022 while she searches for formula. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin/AP Newsroom)

Abbott Nutrition’s Sturgis, Michigan factory, compounding the industry-wide shortage, resumed production on June 4. However, baby food products from the factory won’t return to shelves until mid-July at the earliest, according to the company’s production schedule.

In May, President Joe Biden invoked the Defense Production Act to speed up infant formula production and authorized flights to import supplies from overseas to help parents in desperate need.

Hot sauce

In April, Huy Fong Foods, Inc., the nation’s leading maker of Sriracha sauce, sent a letter to its customers about an impending shortage that would directly impact retailers and restaurants.

“Unfortunately, we can confirm that there is an unprecedented shortage of our products,” Huy Fong Foods told Fox News Digital in an email.

A bottle of Sriracha hot sauce. (Huy Fong Foods)

“We continue to try to solve this problem [been] caused by multiple spiraling events, including unexpected crop failures in the spring chili crop,” the email continued. “We hope for a fruitful fall season and thank our customers for their patience and continued support during this difficult time.”

According to Huy Fong Foods, the troubles began in July 2020 when the company began to feel a shortage of chili pepper inventory. The shortage has worsened in recent months after poor weather conditions negatively impacted this year’s chili crop.

wine bottles

According to Eat This, Not That, there is still a shortage of glass bottles.

Supply chain company Resilinc told FOX Business that “the cost of glass bottles has increased by up to 20%, largely due to the lack of raw materials needed to make the glass.”

Due to “raw material shortages, logistical problems and inflation, winemakers may be forced to pass the cost on to consumers,” the company added.

However, this depends on the size of the operation.

A sign on the shelf for baby food at a grocery store on May 10, 2022 in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer/AP Newsroom)

“Larger wineries with deeper pockets and longer order lead times aren’t feeling the impact as much,” the company said. “Smaller wineries with less purchasing power may be affected differently. While they don’t necessarily want to pass 100% of the cost on to consumers, they will likely have to raise prices while incurring a larger profit loss.”

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

“Three years ago it was our cans for beer and wine, now it’s the actual bottles,” Moersch Hospitality Group CEO Matthew Moersch told WSBT22.

beverages

According to Boxed CEO Chieh Huang, more problems could be on the horizon.

“I think this summer you’re going to start to see some kind of price increase or shortages in drinks just because … these factories are already pumping them out at full capacity. You add the increased demand of the summer, we don’t know where that will go,” Huang told Varney & Co. earlier this month.

Cortney Moore of FOX Business and Associated Press contributed to this report.