Soy sauce put through sticky patch by adventurous cooks
SUPERMARKET shelves have seen a soy sauce shortage as cooks try to replicate restaurant meals at home, according to a report.
Kikkoman, the Japanese sauce manufacturer, revealed it had been forced to ramp up production at its base in the Netherlands after experiencing a massive surge in demand.
A spokesman said the brand had “doubled its sales at retail level” but stressed that Kikkoman was well placed to “recover very quickly from any out of stock [problem]” because it was not currently selling to the catering industry. The spokesman told The Grocer magazine: “People are cooking from scratch and because they are not going out to their favourite Asian restaurants, they are trying to replicate those dishes at home.”
Data from analyst Edge by Ascential show multiple retailers being out of stock of the Heinz-owned Amoy brand of soy sauce.
A Heinz spokesman told The Grocer: “Unfortunately, supplies of Amoy soy sauce are being impacted due to the short-term availability of bottles.
“We are working very closely with our supplier to resolve this as a matter of urgency while taking steps to minimise the effect on availability. “
The magazine said that retailer ownlabel products also appear to be in short supply. Some of Tesco’s ownlabel soy sauces are listed as out of stock on its website with some Twitter users claiming they could not find the sauce in the retailer’s stores. Waitrose’s own-label Cooks’ Ingredients soy sauces are listed as out of stock on its website although both Tesco and Waitrose are still listing options from Kikkoman and Lee Kum Kee.
The UK has also faced shortages of Marmite after the company was forced temporarily to stop producing large jars of the spread because pub closures have resulted in a scarcity of brewer’s yeast.