Back in May, The Wall Street Journal reported that a Good Humor ice cream bar shortage was looming on the horizon. Ice cream truck drivers from Connecticut to Michigan were feeling the heat, most without access to their customers' favorites. The shortage extends from Good Humor classics like the Toasted Almond bar and Chocolate Eclair, to other Unilever-owned ice cream products like Screwballs and cartoon character-shaped pops.
This shortage probably couldn't arrive at a worse time, with the school year wrapping up and temperatures rising all over the country. Unilever spokesman Jeffrey Graubard says that they are hoping to "alleviate" the problem by the end of July.
"How could this even happen?" you may be asking yourself. It is actually a combination of pretty unlucky factors. For one, summer came early all across America. High temperatures in early spring created an unexpected run on existing stock of the icy treats supplied to ice cream trucks. Also to blame, the company is in the midst of closing down the main Good Humor factory location in Hagerstown, MD. As if that weren't enough, the recent U.S. launch of Magnum ice cream bars has also spread remaining production facilities thinly.
Industry veteran Keith Bartholomew, owner of Daisy Ice Cream Co. asked The Detroit News, "Do you know how bad you feel when you make a five-year-old cry by telling them we're out of SpongeBob?" Bartholomew noted that not only are his profits suffering, he's already had drivers quit because they can't stand to keep turning customers away without their favorite treats. "I've never seen a shortage like this ever before," he said.
Unilever assured Business Insider that this problem is exclusive to ice cream truck stock, and doesn't affect their grocery store stock. However, BI did note that there is one catch, "Good Humor's grocery store bars are slightly smaller than the same flavors sold in ice cream trucks." We hate to say it, but perhaps this is the year to switch to homemade treats?