A confectionary giant has been forced to respond after lolly lovers spotted their favourite treat had mysteriously disappeared from Aussie shelves.
A confectionary giant might have thought it could quietly ditch one of its most well known Aussie brands – but social media had other ideas.
TikToker @nariman.dein took to the social media platform to ask if a conspiracy was occurring, revealing she’d been looking for Starburst lollies everywhere with no luck.
“Can someone tell me where these lollies went,” she asked her followers.
“I’ve been looking everywhere in Sydney – Big W, Coles – these lollies don’t exist.”
She said the Starburst lollies were the best and asked if anyone else remembered the treats.
“Is there a conspiracy theory – did they just stop selling them and no one realised?” she asked.
Real reason behind missing lollies
But the empty shelves are no mistake. Starburst maker US confectionary firm Mars Wrigley has confirmed that the iconic lolly is no more – in Australia at least.
A spokesman for Mars Wrigley revealed to news.com.au the bad news.
“We regularly review our Mars Wrigley product range to ensure we’re offering our consumers great tasting products that are also great value for money.
“Our Starburst products are imported from Europe and like many businesses that are importing products from overseas, the brand has been exposed to supply chain difficulties and rising cost pressures over the last two years.
“After reviewing all options, we’ve made the difficult decision to discontinue the brand in Australia from June 2022.” the spokesman said.
“As a proud Australian manufacturer for more than 60 years, we are taking this opportunity to prioritise and invest in the brands and products we make locally in Australia such as M & Ms, Maltesers, Skittles, Snickers, Extra and Eclipse.”
Many of Mars’ brands are made at its factory in Ballarat, Victoria.
Others on social media were equally perplexed by the missing sweets.
“I miss the lollipops the most,” one person said.
Another added: “I love those lollies but they stopped selling them – like what, why?”
A third added: “Starburst is just gone I’ve been looking for them too.”
Someone else said: “No lollies compare to Starburst.”
Others claimed there was limited stock at their local IGA, and another added the range couldn’t be found in New Zealand.
The Starburst range included Chews, Babies, Snakes and lollipops.
Extracted from news.com.au
