A COVID-19-related shortage has Grape-Nuts faithful missing that familiar crunch of their favorite breakfast cereal.
For months, consumers have been searching for boxes of the more than 120-year-old cereal brand only to find empty shelves and out-of-stock notices. Some fans have turned to social media and Reddit to commiserate over their struggle to find the high-fiber cereal and question whether it was being discontinued.
The brand, which is owned by Post Holdings, confirmed the shortage to USA TODAY on Wednesday but said there were "absolutely no plans to discontinue Grape-Nuts cereal."
"People may continue to see shortages and temporary out-of-stocks on Grape-Nuts as we continue to work through supply constraints and higher cereal demand amid the pandemic," Kristin DeRock, Grape-Nuts brand manager, said in a statement to USA TODAY.
Goodbye, Hobby Lobby coupons: Hobby Lobby is getting rid of its 40% off coupon starting Feb. 28 and shoppers are mourning
Walmart grocery orders: Walmart adding automated warehouses with robots to stores to help fulfill pickup, delivery orders
DeRock said the cereal is made using a "proprietary technology and a production process that isn’t easily replicated, which has made it more difficult to shift production to meet demand during this time."
The brand started experiencing shortages in late 2020 and its Grape-Nuts Flakes cereal was also affected. The flakes should be returning to stores now and the original cereal is expected to be "fully back on store shelves" this spring, DeRock said.
In September, the company spoke of a shortage of the flakes on a Facebook comment and said it was "due to adjustments in our production schedules to ensure the items in highest demand are available."
Consumers USA TODAY spoke to said they can find the flakes but want the original Grape-Nuts, which the company explains in its history doesn't contain grapes or nuts but is made from wheat and barley.
Ana Sandoval, of Sacramento, California, started to wonder if the cereal was being phased out after searching for a box since December. She said she has been eating the cereal nearly every day for the last six years to help with her Mediterranean anemia.
“By eating Grape-Nuts, I can get most of my daily iron allotment without the nasty side effects of iron pills,” Sandoval told USA TODAY. “Unlike many people who consider Grape-Nuts to be another form of gravel, I like the crunch and the taste.”
Laurel Zito eats the cereal herself on occasion but she mainly buys to feed a flock of doves near her Ukiah, California home. She said she finally was able to buy the cereal after searching for six months.