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Things you can't find on store shelves this pandemic summer

Favorite brands of soup, peanut butter, hot dogs and more
Posted at 2:34 PM, Jul 08, 2020
and last updated 2020-07-08 15:39:50-04

For a few months, finding disinfecting wipes, toilet paper, or hand sanitizer was like striking gold. Stores were sold out.

But have you noticed?

Now, as toilet paper returns to the shelves, many other items are missing from store shelves. In many cases, they are less popular brands that people nevertheless love.

Libby Turpin can't find her favorite hot dogs, Kahn's.

"That's just one of the hometown favorites my family has always loved," she said.

Viewers have told us in recent weeks they have been unable to find at some stores:

  • Diet Mountain Dew
  • Caffeine Free Dr Pepper
  • Barq's Root Beer
  • Some Lean Cuisine frozen meals
  • Less popular varieties of Jif, including their Reduced Fat Peanut Butter
  • Campbell's Healthy Request soups
  • Kahn's hot dogs and wieners

All those items are still being made, but are harder to find in many stores.

In addition, many cleaning products have been hard to find since March, including....

  • Lysol wipes and spray
  • Formula 409 spray
  • Clorox wipes
  • Scrubbing Bubbles
  • Purell hand sanitizer (though watery no-name brands are now becoming plentiful)

And from the "doesn't that stink" file, the reason you cant find some of your favorites:

Manufacturers say they are focusing on the most popular brands during the pandemic.

A report in MSN news says stores and manufacturers have put some slow-selling brands on hold for a few months, to keep the major brands flowing.

But a website called Instokmay be able to help you find those hard-to-find favorites that you haven't seen on the shelves since last winter. It looks for grocery items at stores in your zip code.

Unhappy? Send an email to the brand's website, or post on their Facebook page, that you want them back, so you don't waste your money.

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