Where do you turn for comfort eating, when you need to soothe the stress caused by a lack of crisps on shop shelves?
That is a question people across the country are being forced to consider, after an IT issue at Walkers headquarters led to a shortage of some of the UK’s favourite snacks.
Aberdeen is no exception, with the picture above showing the scene at Holburn Street’s Tesco Express – shelves bereft of crisps, with very few options left for shoppers craving a crunch.
And it is not just the traditional Walkers flavours – your cheese and onions, salt and vinegars and prawn cocktails – that are tricky to find.
The company dominates the crisp market in the country, and is also responsible for manufacturing snacks such as Monster Munch, Wotsits, French Fries and Quavers.
As a result, they are also largely missing from shops.
Reduced range for a few weeks
Those hoping for a speedy resolution to the problem may be disappointed, with Walkers – which is owned by food and drink behemoth PepsiCo – saying it could be a few weeks before they return to full production.
A spokeswoman for the company said: “A recent IT system upgrade has disrupted the supply of some of our products.
“Our sites are still making crisps and snacks but at a reduced scale.
“We’re doing everything we can to increase production and get people’s favourites back on shelves. We’re very sorry for the inconvenience caused.”
The snack firm has assured customers that they are prioritising the production of their most popular Walkers crisps flavours, as well as Quavers and Wotsits from their snack range.