Pandemic Hoarding Has Led to a Nationwide Dr Pepper Shortage

The next tragique shortage plaguing the nation

First, pandemic-related shortages came for masks, hand sanitizer, and toilet paper. Next, flour and yeast. And now, apparently, Dr Pepper, which recently announced on Twitter that it’s working to fix shortages of “all flavors of Dr Pepper” nationwide.

The scarcity is due to increased demand for the soda, the brand’s parent company, Keurig Dr Pepper, told CNN. It’s still unclear whether or not this particular shortage is related to the broader aluminum can shortage, which CNN reports was a result of “customers who loaded their pantries with canned drinks in the spring” as well as “the transition from drinking in restaurants from taps to drinking at home from cans.”

The increased demand for Dr Pepper would fit the larger trend of consumers turning toward snacking and processed treats throughout the course of the coronavirus crisis. Anything to still feel alive during a pandemic — even if it’s just an electrifying sip of sugary, spicy, cherry-flavored soda.

And in other news…

• At least one Taco Bell location has been spotted with crispy chicken wings on its menu, suggesting that the chain may be getting in on the fast-food chicken wars soon. [Foodbeast]
• Dunkin’ is hopping on the early PSL train this year, with fall-flavored drinks and snacks available on August 19. [USA Today]
• Food app delivery workers and other gig workers are striking throughout Latin America in response to low pay and working conditions on apps like Uber Eats. [Vice]
• Mexico is planning to label junk food and drinks with nutrition warnings describing the health risks of consuming those processed products — a move that the U.S., Canada, the E.U., and Switzerland, home to some of the world’s biggest food companies, are evidently worried about. [Reuters]
• A teenage restaurant hostess in Baton Rouge was allegedly attacked by customers angry that she was trying to break up their large party due to coronavirus seating restrictions, to the point where the worker says she had to get stitches in the emergency room. [WBRZ]
• Industrial hog farming could be breeding the next pandemic. (Remember the swine flu?) [Mother Jones]

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