Dr Pepper isn't the only soft drink whose manufacturer is warning of possible shortages on store shelves during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Tennessee company that sells Double Cola, Jumbo and Ski soda has posted the same message on social media, blaming "heightened sales at the start of the pandemic coupled with a lack of needed raw materials."
Such statements are referring to aluminum cans, said Bill Meier, president of Breese-based Excel Bottling Co., which produces and distributes Ski for The Double Cola Co., along with its own soda and beer brands.
"It's not the ingredients (like sugar) that are in short supply," he said. "It's the can bodies. The amount of can bodies that everybody has used this year has dramatically increased."
The coronavirus has prompted more people to buy can soda and beer to drink at home instead of getting bottled or fountain drinks at restaurants and convenience stores, Meier said, and aluminum-can factories are struggling to keep up with demand.
Many soda and beer companies are using their limited can supplies for top sellers, which is why customers can't find their favorite, though less-popular, flavors.
"For us, we never ran out of Ski cans, but we did run out of Diet Ski cans," Meier said. "But, you know, 90% of what we sell is Ski, not the Diet Ski."
Keurig Dr. Pepper announced on social media recently that it was struggling to fill orders for some flavors of its soda.
"Having trouble finding your favorite Dr. Pepper product?" its post read. "We're doing everything we can to get it back into your hands. That means working with our distribution partners to keep shelves stocked nationwide, while ensuring the safety of our employees."
Bottling Ski since 1961
Excel is an 84-year-old, family-owned business whose co-founder, Edward "Lefty" Meier, bought a used bottling machine with reward money he got for helping to catch a bank robber, according to the company's website.
Meier and his wife, Catherine, set up their first bottling plant in her grandmother's house, a former general store. The company now has a much larger facility with a retail store, but some things haven't changed.
"For our non-diet drinks, we use only 100% pure cane sugar for our sweetener," the website states.
Excel is a franchisee for Ski, which it has been manufacturing since 1961. Bill Meier, Edward's grandson, added a line of craft beers in 2014. He plans to install canning equipment next year.
The company bottles Ski in glass and plastic and produces bags of Ski syrup for fountains, but it doesn't can Ski. It gets packaged Ski cans from other franchisees and distributes them. For weeks, Excel received no shipments of diet, cherry or caffeine-free Ski in cans.
"Once things closed down (due to the coronavirus), there was a lot of panic buying," Meier said. "Instead of buying two cases of soda, people were buying a lot more. But that's kind of leveled out."
Sales about the same
Excel sodas and craft beers haven't been affected by the can shortage because most come in glass bottles. But the company recently starting selling some beer in lookalike plastic bottles that people can take to pools, beaches and barbecues to make up for the fact that fewer are buying kegs or ordering drafts in restaurants and bars.
Overall, Excel sales are about the same as last year, Meier said, noting the company has lost restaurant business but significantly increased deliveries of can soda to grocery and discount stores.
Meier feels the pandemic has negatively affected the company in a less-tangible way. Some of its 30 employees are working at home. Those at the plant must wear masks, and the retail store is open for curbside pickup only with no tastings.
"As a work environment, it's lost a little bit of its flavor, just because it's great to have everybody together, and you can bounce ideas off of folks and get feedback right away," Meier said.
"And now we're super concerned about ... You know, everybody is somewhat close in a manufacturing environment, and we have a lot of workers who are family, like fathers and sons, brothers, and we're scared that, hey, if somebody gets COVID, we may have to shut down."
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August 16, 2020 at 09:56AM
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No! Illinois plant that bottles Ski is among soda companies hit by aluminum can shortage - Herald & Review
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