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Starbucks Customers Are Furious Over Menu Item Shortages: 'I Can't Handle This'

The 25 items in shortage are impacting every menu category.
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Starbucks Customers Are Furious Over Menu Item Shortages: 'I Can't Handle This'
Image credit: Bloomberg | Getty Images
3 min read

When it comes to cult-like customer bases, there are few chains that rival the following that Starbucks has amassed.

The brand has managed to capitalize on over-the-top drinks, offerings and promotions that have gone viral on social media, capturing the likes of both millennials and Gen-Zs alongside older generations who have already become accustomed to the coffee maker.

But new supply chain shortages have Starbucks trending for all but good reason. 

The issue started back in April when the chain was experiencing oat milk shortages from its oat milk supplier Oatly, (which recently raised $1.4 billion upon its IPO debut) when the milk option was removed from the Starbucks app.

But this week, customers noticed a new notification when they logged on to the app.

"Due to current supply shortages, some of your favorites may be temporarily out of stock," the digital memo read. "Feel free to browse the menu for different options or ask your barista for a reccomendation."

Suffice it to say, fans of the chain were not having it.

"Starbucks having a matcha shortage is probably the most disrespectful thing they could’ve done to me," one user asserted.

Others joked that the situation was a "national emergency", some even tagging President Joe Biden and asking him for help and aid.

Related: Starbucks presents its Pick Up service in Mexico

The 25 menu items affected by the shortage seem to hit every category, including breakfast sandwiches, chai and green tea bags, hazlenut syrup, matcha powder and even lemonade.

"We are experiencing temporary supply shortages of some of our products," a Starbucks spokesperson told Insider. "Specific items will vary by market and store, and some stores will experience outages of various items at the same time."

Starbucks isn't the first fast-food chain to feel the effects of pandemic-related food shortages.

Customers were recently up in arms over a sauce shortage at beloved chicken chain Chick-fil-A, following an overall chicken shortage in the U.S. that has affected hundreds of restaurants and franchises.

Starbucks was up 0.41% as of Thursday afternoon.