Supermarket chillers are running out of soup amid ongoing strike action at own-label supplier Bakkavor.
Tesco appears to be the worst affected, with 36 out of 45 (80%) chilled soup SKUs unavailable as The Grocer went to press [Assosia].
The out-of-stock products include 13 Tesco private label 600g soups, such as Carrot & Coriander, Cream of Tomato and Finest Keralan Inspired Chicken, along with lines from Bol, Cully & Sully, New Covent Garden, Yeo Valley and Yorkshire Provender. Tesco has displayed “temporarily out-of-stock” notices in affected stores.
Meanwhile, 16 of 63 SKUs (25.4%) were missing from Sainsbury’s. That figure includes four private label 600g soups, plus Cully & Sully, New Covent Garden, Renourish and Yorkshire Provender products.
Eight out of 35 (22.9%) SKUs were unavailable in Asda: four own-label 600g soups, plus Bol and New Covent Garden lines.
In Waitrose, five out of 53 (9.4%) SKUs were out of stock: a trio of Plants by Deliciously Ella 600g soups, plus Renourish Refresh Gazpacho 500g and a 560g pack of Tideford Organics Coconut & Noodle Soup.
The Grocer understands the issues are at least partly down to ongoing strike action at Bakkavor’s Spalding factory. Over 700 workers walked out in September, having “overwhelmingly rejected” a pay offer, according to Unite.
When approached by The Grocer, a Bakkavor spokesman confirmed it had “simplified” its customer offer as a result of the industrial action.
“Due to industrial action at our Spalding site, we have a shortfall of labour and have therefore simplified our customer offer,” he said.
“We are maintaining availability of our customers’ favourite soup products and hope to return to supplying our full range as soon as possible.
“In overall terms, we continue to supply around 85% of our normal volume from this site.”
A spokeswoman for Waitrose said: “We work with a number of suppliers across the category, so have a range of soups – both fresh and tinned – available to customers.
“We’re really sorry if some products aren’t available, but our partners are always happy to help customers find alternatives.”
Tesco, Asda and Morrisons had not responded to requests for comment as The Grocer went to press.
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