Parents Report Lunchables Are Hard To Find At Grocery Stores

As children across the country are back in school, parents are once again on the hunt for quick, travel-friendly meal and snack ideas that slip perfectly into backpacks. But one popular lunchtime staple has reportedly become harder and harder to find. Parents from California to Maine have reported being unable to find Lunchables on grocery store shelves, leading many to wonder if there is a Lunchables shortage.

While Lunchables has been delighting kids — and making on-the-go lunches just a tad bit easier for parents — since the late 1980s, their popularity seems to have increased in recent years. According to Kraft Heinz, the company behind Lunchables, demand for the pre-packaged kits is at an all-time high.

“Compared to 2019, nearly 2 million more households bought Kraft Heinz brands in the second quarter of 2021,” a spokesperson for Kraft Heinz tells Romper. “We are also seeing all-time high demand for many of our brands, including Lunchables ... Lunchables is seeing double-digit growth for the first time in 5 years.”

Of course, more people snapping Lunchables off store shelves means the product is often gone from shelves faster than in previous years. “Please restock all stores that sell your product because nobody can find Lunchables anymore across the U.S.,” one consumer wrote in a comment left for Lunchables on Instagram.

Other parents echoed similar messages, reporting that stores around there had been out of the kids’ pre-packaged meal and snack kits for weeks. “Is there a Lunchables shortage because every day that I’ve been in the stores around my way they have been completely out of them,” one person wrote on Lunchables’ Instagram page. “You are lucky if you find two which is all we are allowed to buy now. What is going on?”

According to Kraft Heinz, the increased demand for Lunchables has been “driven by proactive steps and investments in marketing and brand renovation that deliver on expectations of modern parents and kids.” And although the company tells Romper it is “thrilled” to see such demand for its products, it’s as eager to solve the Lunchables shortage as parents likely are to see it solved.

Kraft Heinz tells Romper it’s already begun investing in its supply chains in an attempt to get more Lunchables in stores. “We’re actively investing in our supply chains and have teams working fast and furiously so our retailers and consumers can get more of the Kraft Heinz products they love, wherever they like to shop,” the company says.