Can’t find your favorite soda at the store? Here’s why
DALLAS (NewsNation Now) — While the great toilet paper shortage of 2020 may have come to an end, you may notice your favorite sodas or canned drinks are still difficult to come by.
For the last few months, people staying at home have driven up demand for drinks, forcing manufacturers to try and keep up.
“To meet extremely high demand for certain products, we’re temporarily focusing on the availability of those brands,” Coca-Cola tweeted Monday. “Meanwhile, be on the lookout for other packaging as well as plastic bottle options and keep checking back with your retailer.”
In addition to Coca-Cola, social media users are reporting a shortage of certain Pepsi products.
“Please know we’re working diligently to keep products readily available to our consumers,” Pepsi tweeted in response to one user.
A can shortage has caused supply issues for certain drinks and forced companies to shift their production strategy.
“Beverages in convenient take-home packages like aluminum cans are particularly popular right now, and beverage company employees are doing all they can to make sure store shelves remain fully stocked,” The American Beverage Association said in a statement to NewsNation.
Most aluminum cans are produced in the United States, according to MadeHow.com. The raw materials for the metal are imported from Jamaica and Guinea, but about 25% of the aluminum used in cans comes from recycling. A lot of recycling happens overseas.
To adjust for the increased demand, Ball Corp, the largest can manufacturer in the U.S., plans to open two new plants in 2021. They started the expansion as the popularity of hard seltzers, such as White Claw, grew across the country.
In August, NewsNation affiliate KXAN reported drink companies are focusing on their flagship and high-selling brands amid the can shortage. That shift in strategy means some drinks are difficult to find on store shelves.
Coca-Cola has scaled back production of Caffeine-free Coke, Cherry Coke, Coke Zero and Fresca.