According to a new report by the Wall Street Journal, ketchup supplies across the country are running low and Kraft-Heinz is struggling to keep up with demand.
They listed one major reason why this is happening, but I actually think there are two other culprits that aren't mentioned... and they just happen to live in my house.
My husband... and to a lesser degree, my 8-year-old son.
My husband puts ketchup on EVERYTHING. Eggs. Eggs and hash browns. Macaroni and cheese. Hamburgers. Turkey burgers. The chicken broccoli cheesy rice I make in the Instant Pot. My son puts it on his eggs and hash browns and dips his chicken nuggets in it. I put it on French fries like a normal person, but they eat it on everything!!
We always have a huge thing of ketchup in the fridge and a "back up ketch" in the pantry. When the one in the fridge starts to run low, there is always a little bit of a panic that maybe we don't have a back up. Typically we do... and if not, we get one - FAST.
Anyway... in all seriousness, the real reason for the shortage is the massive influx of people ordering takeout from restaurants during the pandemic and the number of ketchup packets that had to go with those orders. The price of ketchup has gone up by 13% over the last year, with Long John Silver's telling the WSJ that they spent an additional $500,000 on ketchup alone in 2020!
So when you go to the drive-thru and they only give you two ketchup packets and you feel like they're being stingy... They are, but it's with good reason. Demand is high, supplies are running low, the price has gone up, and a lot of packets go to waste... So only take what you're going to use... and save any extras just in case people start hoarding it and it really does become scarce!