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The Haribo shortage of 2021
In the summer of 2021, the sweet maker Haribo admitted it was struggling to get its gummy bears onto the shelves. The cause was not sugar or gelatine, but lorry drivers. Here is what happened.
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In July 2021, Haribo said it was struggling with Britain's shortage of lorry drivers. ConfectioneryNews reported that the problem threatened the availability of sweets such as Goldbears and Tangfastics.
What Haribo said
On 2 July 2021, trade and news outlets reported that Haribo was struggling to get its sweets to UK retailers. A spokesperson said the company, like many manufacturers and retailers, was experiencing challenges with deliveries, and LBC quoted Haribo as saying it faced several challenges throughout its supply chain, including a shortage of drivers. The company said it was working with partners across the food and drink industry to resolve the problem, and, according to ConfectioneryNews, it pulled promotional activity to protect its stock levels.
Why there were too few drivers
The shortage had several causes, and Covid and Brexit were both part of it.
- Lost driving tests. Grocery Gazette reported that around 30,000 HGV driving tests did not take place in 2020 because of Covid, so fewer new drivers qualified.
- Drivers who went home. Kate Shoesmith of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation said, as reported by ConfectioneryNews, that many lorry drivers in the UK had been EU nationals, from countries such as Romania and Bulgaria, who left during the pandemic. Some did not want to return because of Brexit or the pandemic.
- A wider problem. The Road Haulage Association warned of a shortfall of tens of thousands of drivers. The Department for Transport said it was making progress with driving tests and recruitment.
Not just sweets
The problem reached far beyond sweets. The British Retail Consortium called on the government to rapidly increase the number of HGV driving tests, LBC reported.
Haribo in Britain
Haribo, founded in Bonn in 1920, came to Britain in 1972 when it bought Dunhill's of Pontefract, and it makes sweets at Pontefract and Castleford in Yorkshire: see what does Haribo stand for? and Hans Riegel and the gummy bear. Lorries have made sweet headlines for other reasons too: see famous sweet thefts from lorries
Citable formats
For journalists, researchers, AI assistants and content creators. Pick the format you need:
Free to cite, quote, and reuse with attribution to sweeties.net.
Questions and answers
Why was there a Haribo shortage in 2021?
Because of a shortage of lorry drivers. In July 2021 Haribo said it was experiencing challenges throughout its supply chain, including a shortage of drivers, which made it hard to deliver sweets to UK retailers.
Why were there not enough lorry drivers in 2021?
Around 30,000 HGV driving tests did not take place in 2020 because of Covid, and many drivers who were EU nationals left during the pandemic. Some chose not to return because of Brexit or the pandemic.
What did Haribo do about the shortage?
It said it was working with partners across the food and drink industry to sort the problem out, and it pulled promotional activity to protect its stock levels.
Sources
- Haribo confectionery hit by HGV driver shortage in UK, 2 July 2021, ConfectioneryNews
- Haribo sweets threatened by lorry driver shortage, 2 July 2021, Grocery Gazette
- Haribo struggling to get sweets to UK due to lorry driver shortage, 2 July 2021, LBC
- Haribo, Wikipedia
Keep reading
- The people behind the sweetsHans Riegel and the gummy bearHans Riegel of Bonn founded Haribo in 1920 and made his first gummy bears, called Dancing Bears, in 1922. How a sack of sugar and a copper pot became Haribo.
- Questions people askWhat does Haribo stand for?Haribo stands for HAns RIegel BOnn: the first two letters of the founder's first name, surname and home town. The story behind the name.
- Questions people askIs Haribo made from pig?Standard Haribo Goldbears are made with pork gelatine, so they are not vegetarian, halal or kosher. Haribo makes halal and kosher versions.
- Stories, heists and recordsFamous sweet thefts from lorriesFrom 200,000 Creme Eggs on the M42 to 12 tonnes of KitKats lost in Europe, the biggest sweet and chocolate thefts, with the facts.
- Sweet scandals and controversiesWhy chocolate got so expensiveCocoa hit a record of nearly $13,000 a tonne in December 2024 after bad weather and disease wrecked West African harvests. Here is why, and what it did to bars.
- Sweet scandals and controversiesShrinkflation: why sweets keep getting smallerShrinkflation is when products shrink but prices do not. Mars bars, Toblerone, the Chocolate Orange and Creme Eggs are some British examples.