Shortage of Mars bars causes voids on UK supermarket shelves

Shoppers looking for Mars bars have been met with empty shelves and 'out of stock' messages on supermarket websites, with some stores warning they are not expecting to deliveries in two weeks or more.

Asked about the apparent shortages, a major retailer told the Guardian that "[it] appears that a production problem of the side of Mars could lead to discrepancies between retailers."

In response, Mars Wrigley, the company behind Mars, Snickers, Bounty and Twix bars, said that she "is experiencing high demand", but added that she wanted to "reassure the UK public that our much-loved brands are still available across the country".

It comes a month after US chocolate maker Hershey warned of shortages, saying the company "will not be in m esure to fully meet consumer demand".

Nestlé, which makes KitKats and other brands of chocolate, blamed "significant and unprecedented cost inflation t for a 6.5% rise in prices in the first half of this year.

The Guardian visited a handful of Tesco stores in London this week to check availability, and found a mixed picture.

In a store in Walthamstow, northeast London, on August 23, there was a space on the shelf where bars Standard plain Mars should have been, although there were plenty of other brands of chocolate bars in stock. When we returned to the same store later in the week, there were no Mars Duo bar packs either. There was a sticker on an empty shelf saying the next delivery was due September 10.

At another Tesco in Walthamstow, there were no more Mars packs Duo or Snickers Duo on the shelves at the time of viewing.

A Tesco in Camden, north London, had sold Snickers Duo until August 29, while the Twix white chocolate bars were out of stock, with an expected delivery date of September 9. Twix Xtra bars were available, along with a handful of Mars Duo packs.

At a Tesco in King's Cross, North London, there were standard single bars from Mars, Snickers, Bounty and Twix available, but gaps on the shelves and "sorry" stickers , out of stock" where Mars Duo, Snickers Duo and Snickers four-packs should have been.

When the Guardian checked Tesco's website on Friday, he declared Noted that the Mars, Snickers, and Bounty four-bar packs were all sold out. However, that day there were single Mars bars.

On Asda's website, a number of Mars bar products were sold out...