Fizzy drink lovers in Australia are in for a lean period, with supermarket shelves running dry off the back of a shortage of a key ingredient.
Beverage-grade liquid carbon dioxide (CO2) is what gives soft drinks and soda waters their pop, but supply issues on the east coast are now being felt at the checkout by thirsty customers.
BOC, one of the country’s two major CO2 suppliers, blamed interruptions from several local sources, as well as issues impacting international freight for imported CO2 products.
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“BOC is prioritising supply for critical medical, safety and water treatment customers,” the British multinational said in a statement.
“We are working collaboratively with customers, our CO2 suppliers and other industry stakeholders to manage the situation.”
The other major supplier, French company Air Liquide, said the it is facing a major disruption in Australia, particularly NSW, as a “result of a planned maintenance shutdown” at one of its source locations.
“Air Liquide planned for this anticipated disruption and to date has minimised impact to its customers. Nonetheless, the CO2 situation remains tight, and Air Liquide continues to monitor and manage its storage and supply chain,” the firm said.
Even shop hopping will not solve the issue for consumers, with several major chains feeling the crunch.
About 20 Woolworths-branded soft drinks are currently in short supply.
“Shortages of CO2 have impacted the supply of some soft drinks in our stores,” a spokesperson for the company said.
“We are working to manage these impacts and a number of alternative products are available to customers while these shortages continue.”
Coles has placed signs on shelves at impacted stores to keep customers informed about the low levels of stock.
“We are working with our suppliers to minimise the impacts for our customers and we hope to have products back on our shelves as soon as possible,” a Coles spokesperson said.
“In the meantime, we have increased our stock of alternative drinks.”
7NEWS.com.au understands German discount chain Aldi is also in talks with its partners to manage levels of their affected drinks before availability returns to normal.
It is unclear when CO2 supplies will be topped up and shelves re-stocked as they usually are.
A spokesperson for the Australian Beverages Council told 7NEWS.com.au they expected the shortage to be “felt on shelves around the country for some time” but that the industry is working hard to restore stock.
Frustrated consumers searched for answers on internet forums when their favourite drinks were nowhere to be found, with some even wondering if home brand beverages had been discontinued.
“Why are home brand sugar-free drinks so hard to buy? Woolworths, Aldi and Coles seem to be the same story. No sugar-free home brand drinks on the shelf, one person posted on Reddit.
Another said home brand products were first to face the chop during production issues because they are the least profitable.
BOC said it is committed to increasing CO2 reliability and supply for customers.
“This includes building a new CO2 processing facility in Victoria, which is expected to be operational in the second half of 2024,” the company said.
“This facility will have the capacity to produce 60,000 tonnes of beverage-grade liquid CO2 annually.”
Beer supplies are not expected to be impacted by the current disruptions.