The last two and a half years have been rough on the supply chain. First, it was toilet paper. We see it now with baby formula. The latest product that is getting attention in the news because it’s in short supply is tampons. Women are reporting that it’s gotten harder to find tampons in stores, and when they do find them, they’re more expensive than usual.
Is Aldi Affected by the Tampon Shortage?
The current supply of feminine hygiene products at our local Aldi. The only tampons in stock for about six months now are name-brand Tampax ones, with no Blossom private label tampons available.
Yes, Aldi tampons have been impacted.
Aldi typically sells a mix of name-brand Tampax tampons as well as private label tampons under the Blossom brand, which encompasses feminine hygiene products at Aldi including pads and panty liners.
However, these aren’t normal times, and we’ve been aware of the tampon supply chain disruption and its effects at Aldi for several months. In February of this year, we wrote about shortages of everyday Regular Buy products at Aldi, and we mentioned that the private label Blossom tampons were missing from Aldi store shelves.
Aldi still sells some packages of name-brand Tampax tampons, but it seems like the boxes have gotten smaller and contain fewer tampons.
What’s Causing the Tampon Shortage?
The tampon shortage is caused by some of the usual suspects: labor shortages, shipping delays, and increasing costs of materials such as cotton and plastic used to make tampons. Procter & Gamble, which produces Tampax products and owns the biggest market share of feminine hygiene products, said in an April earnings call that sourcing, production, and transportation “continues to be costly and highly volatile.”
In an NPR article, P&G said that “the Tampax team is producing tampons 24/7 to meet the increased demand.” CVS, Walgreens, and Target told NPR that some stores have limited supplies of tampons. CVS said suppliers have been unable to fulfill entire orders placed by the company. Walgreens told NPR that shortages “may only be in specific brands while we navigate the supply disruption.”
And when you do find tampons on store shelves, they’re more expensive than ever. Bloomberg states that NielsenIQ data indicates the cost of tampons has risen by nearly 10% in the past year.
When Will the Tampon Shortage End?
The only tampons available at our local Aldi.
Time reported about the shortage last week and pointed out that it has lasted longer than other shortages for products such as toilet paper or hand sanitizer. Time added, “And it’s still hard to find anyone doing anything about the tampon shortage, even though tampons have been hard to find for the past six months.” Local stores don’t always have data about what’s in or out of stock.
So, while my family likes Aldi Blossom Tampons, it looks like tampons will continue to be in short supply for the near future. While we wait for things to get sorted out, we’ll be shopping more for feminine hygiene supplies at our local large inventory grocery store, which still has spotty selection but carries more than Aldi does at this point.
