Clorox wipes, toilet paper... now, pepperoni? Yup, the pandemic is making your favorite pizza topping hard to come by, and it could soon impact your next movie and pizza night.
Small pizza shops around the country are reporting paying twice what they were paying at the start of the year for their bulk pepperoni order. This may become unsustainable if the shortage continues. These pizza chains have so far not passed on the cost increase to the customer. Larger pizza chains have not experienced this price increase because they are buying pepperoni on long term contracts.
The reason for the shortage/price increase? There are a number of factors at play here... More people have been buying pizza in quarantine, the process of making pepperoni is labor intensive, and the workforce for the job has been cut short because of the pandemic.