Candy canes are now joining the list of items facing a shortage this holiday season owing to low peppermint production and overall supply chain disruptions, leaving behind consumers with a weak fruit-flavored taste in the mouth.
Congestion at ports and labor shortages in the trucking industry have driven peppermint-flavored candy canes out of shelves with Christmas shoppers having to content themselves with fruit-flavored alternatives. Supply issues have left shopkeepers dismayed during the peak season.
Economy Candy is a New York icon, serving patrons since 1937, and Cohen said that the store ran out after selling around 12,000 pieces. “Since candy canes were invented, we’ve had candy canes,” he said. A local business survey by the Post revealed some retailers are carrying enough stock while others have none left.
Peppermint candy canes are running out of inventory on online stores as well. While classic options are listed as out of stock on e-commerce stores like Spangler Candy and Candy Warehouse, big box names like Amazon and Walmart are displaying limited numbers of the venerable holiday treat and delayed delivery times.
More than 1.76 billion candy canes are made annually, with the majority, almost 90 percent, getting sold out between Thanksgiving and Christmas, with most sales happening during the second week of December.
Along with peppermint candy canes, cream cheese, international food, turkeys, cranberry sauce, and Christmas trees are found in short supply during this year’s holiday season. Prices for trees are increasing because of extreme weather in the Midwest and Pacific Northwest and port congestions.