These last 6 weeks have been a wild ride on the business front. If you're on this page, you're probably curious about how these supply chains may or may not be impacting our business, and what to expect in the future.
The current issue in the supply chain is - Packaging! No joking - all of our distributors and backup distributors are out of stock with spray nozzles, pumps, and even glass bottles of packaging. We're stocked now, but still monitoring our suppliers to ensure we don't run out of these key items. Luckily, our entire business model is structured to help you get these items only once, and then refill the containers... whereas the disposables aren't ideal! So if you have any spray bottles at home, don't toss that nozzle. Standard sizes are 24-410, like on our aluminum bottles for EO Products, and the slightly wider (by 4mm) 28-400, like on our hand sanitizer and Plaine Products.
Some of our cleaning products are slower to ship, but we aren't seeing any disruption that means items are unavailable... except EO's hand sanitizer gel. They are hoping to start taking orders again in May. I know it's lovely and leaves your hands feeling soft and fresh - we'll have it back soon!
Shopping bags are also in short supply. As many counties (San Mateo included) have temporarily banned the use of reusable bags, stores now must provide bags. California has made huge strides to get consumers to shift to reusable bags in the last few years, so now the bag manufacturers are scrambling to keep up with a new surge in demand. For us, the shift from farmers market (where customers typically have their own bags) to delivery means that we used our supply quickly. We, too, have an order for new shopping bags on the way. If you place a larger order, and it comes in a box... that just means our bags are still in transit.
As of now, it appears that the toilet paper "shortage" has worked itself out. After all, there really was no shortage of toilet paper - it was just that the demand suddenly shifted faster than our supply chains could keep up with. Think about it - everyone who normally would spend 40+ hours at an office now needed this essential item at home. So the residential supply chain spiked, while business supply companies (like those giant rolls) would see a decrease. We don't have a problem getting it now, or keeping it in stock. And with so many people buying it at Costco, it seems that the residential demand will probably be low for a while!