Iconic Campbell’s soup disappearing from supermarket shelves – as sought-after cans sell for nearly FIFTY POUNDS online
SUPPLIES of Campbell’s condensed soup have dried up — leaving shoppers frantically hunting for the last few tins.
The kitchen cupboard staple and inspiration for one of the best known of all modern art works has all but disappeared from supermarket shelves.
Sources say it is down to supplier problems — and the soups should be returning soon.
After readers reported its disappearance, The Sun had little luck trying to find it in shops around London.
We located four cans labelled “reduced to clear” and knocked down from £1.20 to 96p each in a Tesco in Kennington, South London.
A Waitrose in Marylebone, central London, had one damaged can left.
But one pack of six cans is being sold for £47.44 on eBay.
Sun reader Glynn Williams, 71, said: “I can’t see where I’m going to get it now. I’ve been having it for decades.”
The Campbell’s brand was founded in the US in 1869. Its recipe for condensed soup came nearly 30 years later and revolutionised the industry.
It is now available in 120 countries around the world — but British supermarkets are struggling for supplies.
A Campbell’s spokesman in the US said the shortages might be the result of discussions over a new licensee partner in the UK.
It has left customers, many of whom use it as an easy base for a sauce in countless recipes, scouring shops for days without luck.
Glynn, from Petersfield, Hampshire, spent a week going to all the major supermarkets, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons, but staff kept telling him they no longer stocked it.
He last got his hands on a tin about a month ago in Asda but has not seen it on its shelves since.
He said: “We’ve been seeing a lot of things disappear. You just think, ‘There goes another one’.
“But Campbell’s has been such a staple in the larder for 150 years. It’s always handy to have some, to have something warm to keep you going until a main meal.”
Other shoppers voiced their frustrations online. One said: “We can’t get them anywhere! Tried two Waitrose, three Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s.”
Another added: “My family has been buying Campbell’s soup for 60-odd years but recently cannot find them stocked anywhere.”