What’s The Next Possible COVID-19 Related Shortage? Pepperoni

First, it was toilet paper and Clorox wipes, then it was coins, now apparently we are starting to find out there could be an impending pepperoni shortage. As absurd as it sounds there is some science behind the possible pizza topping shortage, and it all links to COVID-19.

According to Bloomberg, "pepperoni, America’s most beloved pizza topping, is getting ever-more expensive to obtain amid production snags at meat plants and high demand for pizza."

Apparently making pepperoni is a labor-intensive task and some producers of the tasty topping, are low on manpower due to COVID-19, and aren't putting their limited resources into the cured meat.

Bloomberg went on to state in their write up of the possible pepperoni shortage that it's not just the supply of pepperoni leading to the high prices and scarcity of it. It also has to do with people's dining habits changing with COVID-19. According to Bloomberg,  "Pizza restaurants have shown resiliency throughout the pandemic as homebound consumers turned to the original delivery staple for comfort food."

On average the price of pepperoni has gone up and in some cases doubled in cost according to Fox News. Right now the pepperoni 'shortage' shouldn't affect the large pizza companies like Domino's and Pizza Hut as they buy their ingredients in bulk and have negotiated the price for their products in advance.

That's not to say it won't change if the producers continue to not ramp up pepperoni production due to workforce shortages.