Move over toilet paper: flour is the hot item in Canada

April 23, 2020April 23, 2020 Kevin

chictype/iStock(NEW YORK) — While manufacturers here in the U.S. struggle to keep up with the demand for things like toilet paper and hand sanitizer due to folks sheltering in place as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, a Canadian company is having trouble keeping up with a surge in the demand for — flour.

It’s not really the flour itself that’s in short supply, but Robin Hood, a company that typically sells more of it in Canada than just about anyone, says its having trouble finding enough of its signature yellow bags in which to to put it.

“We are experiencing some delays with our normal packaging,” Ray Hancart of Smucker Foods of Canada, which owns the Robin Hood brand, tells CBC News. “We have made a temporary switch to white and brown bags from our traditional yellow bags to make sure we could replenish quickly.”

However, while the bags may look different, Hancart stresses the flour inside is the same product Canadians, and others, have come to know and love.

“Consumers should rest assured there’s nothing else changed about the product,” he says. “We are working as quickly as possible to get flour back on store shelves.”