From toilet paper to cake mix and hand sanitiser, supermarkets are struggling to keep their shelves full. Despite several weeks of panic-buying, these items are slowly making their way back onto our shelves, albeit for one particular item.
Flour remains largely stripped from shelves, putting “enormous pressure” on supply chains.
Aussie shoppers have taken to social media to vent their frustrations after weeks of no luck finding the essential pantry product, despite ALDI, Coles and Woolworths all limiting customers to just two packets of flour per purchase.
“Where the hell is all the flour at coles i went to 3 different coles,” one shopper wrote.
Another added, “My coles doesn’t have flour but it has a lobster”.
Still no flour at Coles Woodend. But they have a new 'bulk' goods section, where there was a choc brownie mix for 50, pancake mix for 80, a 2kg tub of pepper or pink salt rocks, 2kg or more jar of ground up garlic (strange colour), and some sort of catering pack of seaweed.
— Irene O'Duffy (@ireneoduffy) April 15, 2020
Who is buying all the FLOUR??
Forget flowers or chocolates. Who’d have thought that a bag of self-raising would be the way to my heart these days.
— Ellen Wild (@EllenWild1) April 14, 2020
I reckon for the past month I've not seen even 1 packet of flour on any supermarket shelf: Coles, Woolies, Aldi. Whilst stock for most items seem to be back to normal, apart from: flour & hand sanitizer.https://t.co/mvK98n1Hht
— Dean Rosario (@DeanRosario) April 14, 2020
where the hell is all the flour at coles i went to 3 different coles
— annie (@fourtwannie) April 15, 2020
All of you sourdough making wannabes buying up flour feeling like you are on Great British Bake Off in this quarantine are ruining my pizza Friday. I used flour before we were stuck in the house. I used flour before it was cool. pic.twitter.com/9ttlDL6dbt
— Sydney Glide (@TheSydneyGlide) April 14, 2020
I don’t understand how EVERYWHERE can be OUT of flour!! Like, everyone is magically out at the same time as the pandemic and they use it in every meal they make?!
— syd 🌙 (@harrison_sydney) March 24, 2020
My coles doesn’t have flour but it has a lobster wtf pic.twitter.com/pnAIlxAZLB
— Danielle Walker (@danwalkercomedy) April 8, 2020
News.com.au report that Coles has stocked a “staggering amount” of flour into stores this week to keep up with customer demand, which has reportedly outstripped Christmas.
Have you managed to buy flour in the past few weeks?