Nestlé “working hard” to avoid Christmas shortages on Quality Street | Food industry

The Quality Street maker said the supply chain crisis could affect deliveries of some of its candies heading into Christmas.

Mark Schneider, Managing Director of Nestlé, said: “Like other companies, we are seeing labor shortages and transport issues, but it is the top priority of our UK team to work constructively with retailers to supply them. “

When asked if he could guarantee Quality Street would be in stores this Christmas, he told the BBC: “We are working hard.”

In a subsequent statement, Nestlé – which also makes Smarties, Milkybars, Eros, KitKats and Lion bars, said there will be plenty of Quality Street to browse this holiday season.

“Like all businesses, we are managing a number of challenges at the moment, but we are working hard to mitigate those issues and do not see a significant impact on sourcing. Our Halifax plant makes up to 12m of Quality Street candy every day, ”the company said.

There has been an increase in early buying from buyers concerned that supply chain issues will affect their plans for the December celebrations.

Tesco, Iceland and Aldi said sales of frozen turkeys were increasing year over year, while in Waitrose 112,000 people have already booked their Christmas delivery slot, about double the number around the same time last year.

Food processing facilities and farms have faced labor shortages, and retailers and their suppliers are concerned about finding enough warehouse workers, especially those with skills such as driving forklifts, to ensure deliveries arrive on time like during the busy Christmas season.

Ports have become congested as deliveries are delayed by factory shutdowns in East Asia and shipping container supply challenges snowball as retailers try to stock up on time for their peak period of sale.