Victor Jack and James Davey

LONDON (Reuters – There’s no shortage of crunch in Britain.

The British have had enough of panicky buying at fuel pumps and rising heating costs. Now they must face a new shortage. Crisps or potato chips are one of their favourite snacks.

Walkers, Britain’s biggest producer of food products, has upgraded its IT system and left the shelves empty at supermarkets and other shops. This deficit could continue for weeks.

PepsiCo’s Walkers (NASDAQ:) said that although the issues surrounding the upgrade were fixed, the factories won’t be able to ramp up production to near full capacity until November. This will result in a reduction of volume for retailers and a reduced range.

The supply of some products has been disrupted by a recent IT system upgrade. Walkers spokesperson said that the company’s sites still make snacks and crisps but on a smaller scale.

“We’re doing everything we can to increase production and get people’s favourites back on shelves. We’re very sorry for the inconvenience caused.”

Walkers is prioritising production of its most popular crisps flavours, including Cheese & Onion, Ready Salted and Salt & Vinegar, as well as Quavers and Wotsits from its snacks range.

However, Walkers crunch shortages have forced consumers to purchase other brands. This has led to empty shelves over a year in which supply chains were strained due to a shortage of truck drivers post-Brexit and global supply disruptions from COVID.

McDonald’s pulled milkshakes from their menu in August. Nando’s, a rival fast-food chain, closed around 50 locations due to staff shortages within its chicken supply chain.

THE CRISP

The British love crisps. They are often snuck into lunchboxes with their children or savored on the sofa as an accompaniment to TV drama.

British prisoners in COVID-19 lockeddowns ate so many snacks that government advertisements urging people to be healthier were created.

According to Kantar, a market research company, the average British person eats two bags of 25-gram potato chips per week. In addition, 141,000 tonnes of crisps is sold annually in Britain each year.

Carole Moore (a 69 year old pensioner hailing from Plaistow in east London) said, “I am upset. Now I must go out shopping again.” She was looking for crisps at Tesco OTC:, Britain’s largest supermarket chain.

Moore, shopping for a bonfire night party of 22 people, was unable to find any multipacks of her favourite Prawn Cocktail and Salt & Vinegar crisps at the Tesco superstore in Beckton.

Historical dispute surrounds the invention and use of crisps during the first half of the 19th Century. Both sides have their legends.

Crusts became a huge business in the early 20th century. Walkers was started in Leicester, England in 1948 by a butcher who changed from meat to crisps due to post-World War Two restrictions.

Kantar estimates that in 2020 the UK market value for snacks, such as crisps and popcorn, grew 13.1%, to 3.8 Billion Pounds ($5.1 Billion).

($1 = 0.7443 pounds)