These disappearing grocery items won’t be on the shelves much longer!
Have you noticed that some of your favorite items that once graced the shelves of supermarkets are no longer there? If you have, I’m here to tell you that you’re not imagining things. And there’s a reason behind every one of their disappearances.
After being deemed unpopular, dangerous, or just plain inappropriate, certain things have been getting the proverbial boot, and you’ll likely never see most of them in grocery stores again. Here’s another thing I noticed: If you see an asterisk on the price label for an item, buy it if you love it!
The asterisk means that it’s being discontinued and might never return to stores. Other items, though, could simply disappear from shelves abruptly. So before this happens, take a look at this list of 10 disappearing grocery items, and if your faves are on here, be sure to stock up before it’s too late!
Kirkland Signature Performance One golf balls
Sometimes, it’s best not to mess with a classic. Many golfers went nuts over the Kirkland Signature golf balls at Costco. And they usually sold out fast whenever they were in stock. But they weren’t quite up to snuff when the company tried to update the ball, including a new name: the Signature Performance One.
So Costco chose to refund the purchase price for everyone who bought this disappearing grocery item, with a message saying, “Some of the balls don’t meet the high standards that are expected for the Kirkland Signature brand.”
E-cigarettes
Vaping was originally praised as a means to help people quit smoking cigarettes. But, with increasing concerns about the dangers of vaping, many stores are cutting back on selling e-cigarettes and their cartridges.
Walmart, for instance, announced that it was suspending all sales of this disappearing grocery item once its current stock was sold. This was after they had already dedicated themselves to raising the age for buying vaping products and e-cigarettes to 21 and stopped selling the fruit and dessert flavored liquids that appealed to minors.
Rainbow Matchstix carrots
Before that dreaded pandemic, Bolthouse Farms offered over a dozen varieties of baby carrots, but now that’s down to four options, the company’s CEO stated to media outlets.
The company has stopped making this disappearing grocery item and offers French-cut carrots in an assortment of red, purple, and yellow hues instead. However, you can still buy orange Matchstix carrots, and the classic baby carrot options remain plentiful.
Self-serve stations
I think it’s safe to say that you’ll have to say goodbye, probably forever, to salad bars, hot food bars, olive, and pickle bars, and any other in-store bar where consumers can serve themselves. It seems as though these disappearing grocery items were already seeing a decline in sales before the pandemic anyway.
And salad bar tongs were never cleaned properly. Now, in the age of post-COVID-19, we understand that sneeze guards aren’t all that sufficient to prevent the transmission of virus particles from infected shoppers to utensils and open food containers. So, self-serve stations are becoming extinct more and more everywhere.
According to news outlets, some grocery chains are trying to acclimate. For example, at Publix, employees scoop out selected items for customers, while some H.E.B. stores have stocked their chilled bars to hold prepacked meals from local restaurants.
Odwalla
Coca-Cola declared it was discontinuing Odwalla, its line of protein drinks, smoothies, and premium juices. The company says the decision resulted from “consumers changing what they want so rapidly” and this disappearing grocery item’s “enduring ongoing financial challenges.”
The truth is that supply chain issues probably led to this decision just as much. Refrigerated distribution is much more costly than non-refrigerated, and its supply chain is primarily built for non-refrigerated.
Zantac
Walmart was among several merchants—including Walgreens, CVS Health, and Rite Aid—that pulled the heartburn drug Zantac from its shelves (and anything else with its active ingredient: ranitidine) after regulators found harmful contaminants in the medication last year.
The discovery of low levels of a probable cancer-causing chemical in this disappearing grocery item also resulted in recalls of a few prescription blood pressure medications the previous year.
Smucker’s Uncrustables
Don’t freak out yet, guys! They’re not all leaving your local supermarket’s shelves. But J.M. Smucker Co. is halting production, at least for now, of some of its reduced-sugar and reduced-fat frozen PB&J sandwiches, according to the company.
So what’s going on? Well, many people are munching on snacks more, eating lots more comfort food and more sugar-full foods. Research shows that reducing our intake of sugar and fat doesn’t seem to be a high priority right now for Americans.
Now, it’s too soon to tell if that’s a dietary change that will stick around for the long haul. But for now, you might want to stock up on this disappearing grocery item if you love it.
Specialty meats
Have you noticed that the selection of cuts available in the meat case has declined recently? Well, that’s partly due to coronavirus outbreaks in meatpacking plants. Meat producers have had to close plants temporarily, and those that reopened with skeleton crews had to concentrate on producing more basic products, like bone-in cuts.
Besides this, big orders from schools and restaurants are down substantially, and it’s no surprise that meat suppliers have had to adapt. The end result? The production of this disappearing grocery item in the past few years has been down by 25% from before the pandemic.
Half-sheet cakes
Costco has officially announced that it will no longer be selling its half-sheet cakes. These tasty rectangular cakes have been a staple of birthday and graduation parties for years, but not anymore. Costco has been phasing the cakes out over the past few months, promoting their new ten-inch round cakes instead.
Their reaction to disappointed shoppers has been somewhat cryptic. They’ve said that they’ve “reduced service in some departments” and that their round cakes “seem to be resonating” with membership owners. Could it perhaps be because the round cakes serve far less people?
Maybe this warehouse club is trying to discourage large social gatherings. Whatever the case, say goodbye to this disappearing grocery item, at least for now.
Lean Cuisine Chicken Carbonara
Nestle declared that it was discontinuing a few varieties of Lean Cuisine, stating that their sales didn’t warrant the slowdown in production they generated. If you’re a big fan of Chicken Carbonara, with chicken, fettuccine, bacon, asparagus, and a creamy sauce, you may want to learn to make it yourself at home because it’s one of the disappearing grocery items.
Even though chicken is desirable at the moment, explaining its price point and health qualities make it a favorite, the carbonara sauce in this dish is the opposite of healthy. This could explain why sales have been down.
Did you know about all these? And are any of these disappearing grocery items regularly on your shopping list? Let me know how you feel about all this in the comments section below.
But don’t leave yet! If you found this article helpful, you’ll also want to read about the 16 Extremely Overpriced Foods That Don’t Deserve a Spot on Your Grocery List
