SHOPPERS hitting the supermarket could find regular favourites have suddenly vanished as the big chains change up their offering.
There are a number of items that have been discontinued across Aldi, Asda and Sainsbury’s leaving customers feeling pretty disappointed.
Aldi’s chilli cheese rolls are missed[/caption]
Shoppers were gutted after Asda axed its OMV range[/caption]
Nestle’s vegan KitKat is disappearing from shelves[/caption]
Supermarkets regularly review their offering based on customer demand. This can mean making tweaks to recipes, packaging, as well as axing items altogether.
This can be hugely disappointing for shoppers who were regular buyers of an item.
Sometimes you will get some warning that an item is disappearing and can stockpile some for the future.
Big brand items stocked by the supermarkets can also be halted by manufacturers meaning the supermarket has no control over whether it can carry on offering the product.
In some cases items are limited edition and only available for a short time. However, if they are popular enough they may be brought back or made permanent.
Here are the items you won’t be seeing on shelves this year..
ALDI
Shopper have been left disappointed after Aldi discontinued one of its popular bakery items.
The Village Bakery Chilli Cheese Topped Rolls had been described by customers as “lush” – but they will no longer be available on shelves.
Aldi has since confirmed to The Sun that the bakery favourite is no longer available.
A spokesperson for the supermarket said: “We continually review our range of products to make sure we’re meeting the needs of Aldi shoppers.”
And at the end of last year Aldi got rid of two varieties of biscuits meaning you won’t find them in stores going forward.
Both Coconut Rings and Chocolate Rich Tea biscuits were given the shove by the supermarket.
Looking for the Coconut Rings, one sad customer wrote on X: “@Aldi Where have these gone? My fiancé loves them and was going to get 50 packets for his 50th birthday in 3 weeks.
“Been to 3 stores and none on shelf – please help.”
Aldi’s response confirmed the treat isn’t coming back, writing: “I’m so sorry, but this product has been discontinued.
“We hope your fiancé finds an alternative packet to fall in love with.”
When shoppers were about the absence of the chocolate rich teas, Aldi said: “We can see this product has been discontinued.
“We are sorry for any disappointment.”
The supermarket has also pulled several other popular items in recent months including Village Bakery Seeded Medium Sliced Loaf, Salted Caramel Teabags, Four Seasons Lemon and Lime Slices and Moser Roth Vegan Blonde Chocolate Bar.
ASDA
Asda has disappointed shoppers by pulling a number of items from the shelves.
Fans of the supermarket’s OMV instant hot chocolate took to social media to demand answers after noticing the vegan-friendly drink had mysteriously disappeared.
Asda confirmed the product was gone for good on X, writing: “Hi there, I am sorry to tell you that the hot chocolate has been discontinued and is no longer on sale in our stores.”
The supermarket has also stopped offering Heinz’s tomato and lentil ragu sauce, £2, after the flavour was discontinued.
A frustrated customer took to social media looking for the sauce and asking if it had been discontinued. Heinz replied: “I’m afraid it has”.
It had also been sold in Sainsbury’s.
And last year Asda ditched its teatime favourite 300g packs of garlic and herb tortelloni which let customers rustle up a quick dinner in just minutes.
LIDL
Shoppers at the supermarket can no longer get bakery favourite the Cronut after it was discontinued last year.
These were a cross between a doughnut and a croissant dusted in sugar.
One consumer tagged Lidl on X, and asked: “@LidlGB have you stopped doing cronuts? They were amazing!”
The supermarket responded: “Hi there! Our cronuts were a special guest in the bakery and have now been discontinued, we’re so sorry for any disappointment.”
The shopper replied: “Nooooo!! They were amazing!!”
A Lidl spokesperson told The Sun: “The cronut is one of our special guest products in our bakery section.
“This means that it is not part of our core range and is something that is only brought in for a few weeks at a time.”
MORRISONS
Morrisons had stocked Terry’s White Chocolate Orange, £2, but you won’t be finding it on shelves this year after it was discontinued.
There were also sharing bags in the same flavour which could be nabbed for just £1.50 for the same flavour.
Shoppers turned to online platforms where the item has gone, but a spoekesperson for Terrys Chocolate confirmed the items are no longer available.
White chocolate variants had also been stocked in Tesco and Sainsburys.
Another item you will no longer find on Morrisons’ shelves is the New York Bakery Co blueberry bagels.
The bakery item had been stocked in Morrisons as well as Asda.
On social media, one person commented: “My local Asda and Morrisons stopped stocking them. They have some maple flavour instead. Please bring the Blueberry Bagels back and make them permanent.”
However, a spokesperson for the New York Bakery Co confirmed to The Sun the item had only been a limited edition.
You also won’t find Lyle’s Golden Syrup Weetabix after it was dropped.
A Weetabix spokesperson told The Sun it was “proud of its broad range of nutritious and tasty Weetabix cereals, and regularly review the line up in response to changing tastes and requests from our fans”.
An original flavour pack of 24 cost from £3.25 and had also been available in Asda and Tesco.
SAINSBURY’S
Shoppers at Sainsbury’s were bitterly disappointed after the chain axed its two-litre carton of orange juice at the end of last year.
One customer said on X: “Very simple question, why have you stopped selling 2L orange juice, forcing us to pay more for 2 x 1L?”
Sainsbury’s shoppers could previously pick up a large carton of the citrus-flavoured juice for £1.99.
But now, if they want the same amount of juice, they have to instead purchase two one-litre cartons, priced at £1.19 each – a total of £2.38.
And it’s not the only drink that customer won’t see on shelves this year.
Sainsbury’s has also dropped it full-sugar lemonade upsetting some shoppers.
The refreshment did not contain sweeteners and was red-rated for its high levels of sugar.
Customer Claire-Louise complained on X: “Not everyone can tolerate sweeteners and some people choose to avoid them. Very disappointing.”
TESCO
Tesco is among the supermarkets that will be losing a rare KitKat bar.
Nestle is axing its Vegan bar citing a lack of demand from customers.
If you’re a fan you have until the summer to stock up when it will be pulled.
The supermarket is currently stocking the treat, Or you can also get it at Morrisons and Asda before it disappears.
Tesco has also seen Heinz’s popular diet meal range vanish from shelves after the food maker decided to ditch its frozen line with Weight Watchers.
The dishes, which came in a range of flavours such as Sweet and Sour chicken and curry, were designed to be low in calories to help those on a diet stick to their plan.
The supermarket giant has also lost Cinnamon flavoured Coca-Cola.
The drink was slashed to just 18p in stores as it was reduced to clear, giving bargain hunters £1.67 saving.
Coca-Cola confirmed to The Sun that the drink is on it’s way out and is no longer being sent to supermarkets such as Tesco.
Why are products axed or recipes changed?
ANALYSIS by chief consumer reporter James Flanders.
Food and drinks makers have been known to tweak their recipes or axe items altogether.
They often say that this is down to the changing tastes of customers.
There are several reasons why this could be done.
For example, government regulation, like the “sugar tax,” forces firms to change their recipes.
Some manufacturers might choose to tweak ingredients to cut costs.
They may opt for a cheaper alternative, especially when costs are rising to keep prices stable.
For example, Tango Cherry disappeared from shelves in 2018.
It has recently returned after six years away but as a sugar-free version.
Fanta removed sweetener from its sugar-free alternative earlier this year.
Suntory tweaked the flavour of its flagship Lucozade Original and Orange energy drinks.
While the amount of sugar in every bottle remains unchanged, the supplier swapped out the sweetener aspartame for sucralose.
