When rumors first began to circulate that the UK would go back into lockdown, Leanne Barnes despaired as bread and toilet roll flew off the shelves again at her local supermarket. But to her surprise, shelves were back to being fully stocked within a few days.
At the same time, major food companies – including Campbell Soup , Kraft Heinz and McCormick & Co – told Reuters or have said publicly that they have taken measures like changing their production, packaging or pricing so retailers can keep shelves stocked. A Reuters analysis of a basket of goods shows shoppers are buying far less in the United States and Europe than they did earlier this year at the start of the first round of lockdowns.
“I'd say that today, our supply chain is so much more resilient than it was at the beginning of the year,” McCormick's Chief Executive Lawrence Kurzius told Reuters in October. Campbell CEO Mark Clouse told Reuters the company has upped outsourcing of production of soup and some snacks to third-party manufacturers – or “co-packers” - to meet any unexpected demand quickly.
Rival Kimberly-Clark , the world’s biggest toilet paper maker, is also seeing higher manufacturing and distribution costs, while Clorox said this month that it is “investing significantly” in third-party suppliers and getting products to retailers faster.