One of the world’s largest confectionary manufacturers has been forced to respond after Australians suddenly struggled to find Starburst lollies on supermarket shelves.
One Sydney TikToker revealed she’d been searching for the lollies everywhere, in a video that has been watched 250,000 times.
“Can someone tell me where these lollies went?” she said, “I’ve been looking everywhere – Big W, Coles, whatever – these lollies don’t exist … did they just stop selling them and no one realized?”
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More than 1000 people agreed, commenting that they, too, had struggled to source the range which includes Starburst Fruit Chews, Gummies, GummiBursts, lollipops and Jellybeans.
“I love those lollies but they stopped selling them like what, why?” one said. Another added: “I’ve been looking for them too.”
While a third person said: “Oh my god my childhood I miss them so much.”
A spokesperson for Mars Wrigley, which manufactures Starburst, told 7NEWS.com.au that the reason the popular treats were so hard to find in Australia – is because the brand had been discontinued.
“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,” the spokesperson said.
“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.”
The company said that after “reviewing all options”, it had made the “difficult decision” to discontinue the brand in Australia from June 2022. Instead, it will focus on products manufactured locally.
“As a proud Australian manufacturer for more than 60 years, we are taking this opportunity to prioritize and invest in the brands and products we make locally in Australia such as M&Ms, Maltesers, Skittles, Snickers, Extra and Eclipse.”
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