Supermarket shelves are being left empty of Weetabix Protein due to “temporary” supply chain disruption.
Shoppers have taken to social media site X over recent days to complain they cannot find the cereal in stores.
“I am trying to get Weetabix Protein but cannot find it anywhere in my area in North London,” posted one shopper, tagging the brand. “Has it been discontinued?” they asked.
Another shopper claimed she had not been able to get hold of Weetabix Protein “for weeks from Tesco (home delivery)” in an X post.
Indeed, the cereal appears to have been absent from Tesco and Sainsbury’s shelves since mid-September, according to The Grocer’s analysis of Assosia data [12 w/e 11 October 2024]. It then disappeared from Asda on 2 October.
Weetabix Protein 24-pack was still available in Morrisons at the time of writing.
The Grocer understands the shelf gaps are being caused by disrupted distribution, which appears to have impacted the added protein ‘bix’ only. Weetabix Protein’s Crunch Chocolate 450g cereal was available in Asda and Ocado at the time of writing.
A spokesman for Weetabix told The Grocer the availability issues impacting Weetabix Protein were “temporary”.
The cereal would return to supermarket shelves “as soon as new stock has been delivered”, he said.
It comes after Weetabix launched a £10m campaign in April in a bid to re-engage its core audience and stem volume declines.
Weetabix saw volume sales decline 8% – or 5.2 million packs – in the 52 weeks to 31 December 2023, according to NIQ data. However, the picture had improved by summer, with volume declines slowing to 1.7% [Kantar 12 w/e 9 June 2024].
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