Looks like it could be hard to get your hands on a 99 come July.
An Irish ice-cream shop owner has warned that it may be difficult to get a 99 ice cream over the summer due to a “global shortage” of Cadbury’s chocolate flakes.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne on Monday, Yasmin Khan, co-owner of Teddy’s Ice Cream in Dublin said that the company “didn’t produce enough” of the chocolate flakes.
Khan speculated that the shortage may be due to the company presuming that ice-cream shops would close during the pandemic.
She said that “by mid-July it will be tough to get ice cream 99s”, adding that similar chocolate products from other companies just “weren’t the same” as the Cadbury’s flake.
The shop owner added that Teddy’s would not need to “ration” the flakes as they have been stockpiling the product since they first became aware of the shortage.
Khan said they were alerted to the shortage at the beginning of April when they received a call from Mondelez, the company that now owns Cadbury.
“We have had to stockpile and just be really tough, saying sorry we cannot supply anyone else with them,” she added.
“I have them hidden in my house, in my storeroom, I have them everywhere – I even have them hidden under my bed.”
Khan also said that the 99 is the “most popular” and “top-selling” ice cream cone available at her store.
In a statement released to the Irish Times, Mondalez confirmed reports of the shortages but said that they’re working hard to meet the demand following a “recent increase”.
A spokesperson said: “We are seeing a recent increase in demand for our Cadbury 99 Flake in Ireland, The product is still available to order and we’re continuing to work closely with our customers.”
