Haribo struggles to deliver to UK stores due to shortage of truck drivers | Food industry

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The shortage of truck drivers could become a reality for UK children and their parents after confectionery maker Haribo told traders it was struggling to deliver enough bags of the candy.

Jelly babies, gelatin bears and mini fried eggs could all be affected as the German company said it was struggling to get its products to customers in the UK.

In news that will affect millions of young children and the caregivers who bribe them, Haribo reportedly canceled promotions on his sharing bags as he tried to maintain availability.

As is the case with many manufacturers and retailers across the country, we are facing challenges with the driver shortage nationwide, a spokesperson said. We are working with partners across the food industry to address and respond to this issue.

According to the business newspaper The Grocer, Haribo told wholesale and retail customers that he has a number of supply chain issues and is working hard to deal with the situation.

He also reported that other suppliers, including Hain Daniels, a supplier of vegetarian soup, jam and sausage brands, had asked their business customers to help him facilitate deliveries.

The candy bottleneck follows warnings from the logistics industry that there could be summer gaps on shelves, especially for refrigerated foods, including some fruits and vegetables, due to lack of drivers.

Government officials have held emergency talks with retailers, wholesalers and logistics groups to deal with the shortage. The road transport industry says tens of thousands of truck driver jobs remain vacant due to a combination of Brexit and Covid-19.

Food wholesalers also spoke of a perfect storm caused by the shortage of truck drivers leading to gaps in retail shelves or in the supply of hospitality businesses.

James Bielby, Managing Director of the Federation of Wholesale Distributors (FWD), said: This is really essential. There are late deliveries or short deliveries, or a product not available, or the delivery window is missing and needs to be picked up. So there is a shortage of products coming in, which has a ripple effect.

The number of items available to customers is reduced, as well as the number of drivers used by wholesalers.

The FWD, which has 660 members ranging from large food companies, including Brakes and Booker, to smaller regional wholesalers, said the situation had worsened since the domestic hotel industry reopened in England on May 17.

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The pressure on food and drink deliveries is expected to continue to worsen, especially from September, when students return to school after summer break and workers return to offices, leading to the reopening. canteens.

There will be a series of pressure points unless action is taken, Bielby said. It’s a perfect storm. Demand is not met by supply.

The industry said flexibility on driver hours could help alleviate the situation, combined with an effort to clear the backlog of drivers waiting to take tests to obtain or keep their heavy truck licenses.

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