More Fast Food Retailers Hit By Supply Chain Crisis

High street favourites Greggs, Costa, and Subway are the latest retailers to have confirmed that some branches are facing shortages due to supply chain issues.

The news comes just days after KFC, Nandos, and McDonald’s confirm they were struggling with supplies. At some restaurants in Scotland, England, and Wales, McDonald’s has run out of milkshakes and bottled drinks, reports BBC News.

Logistics UK and the British Retail Consortium have said there is a shortfall of around 90,000 HGV drivers, which was the main cause of the problem, as there is not enough staff to deliver goods.

Pastry and sandwich retailer Greggs said that supply chain issues had led to some favourites not currently available in some stores.

A Greggs spokesperson said: “Unfortunately, like others, we’re seeing temporary interruptions in supply for some ingredients which occasionally results in shops not being able to maintain full availability on all lines.

“However, we have a wide range of choices in our menu for customers happy to buy an alternative.”

Coffee shop Costa is currently operating with a reduced menu, and some customers have reported that certain stores had even run out of coffee, while Nando’s was forced to close 50 restaurants recently due to chicken shortages.

Industry lobbyists have written to Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng with a stark warning about the UK’s lorry driver shortage and the knock-on effect to supply chains, and asked for a review of plans not to grant temporary work visas to drivers from the EU.

Logistics UK said the shortage was ‘placing increasingly unsustainable pressure on retailers and their supply chains.’

They added: “While there was a shortage of HGV drivers prior to the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit, these two events have exacerbated the situation.

“The pandemic halted driving training and testing for over 12 months, while an estimated 25,000 EU drivers returned home during the pandemic and following the end of the transition period.”

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