By now we're all accustomed to food shortages and products being discontinued due to supply chain issues. But it still catches us by surprise when we hear of beloved products leaving shelves or their manufacturing being halted. That's why when we saw a TikTok tip this week that claimed the manufacturer behind Airheads was halting production until 2024, we knew we had to investigate.
Are Airheads Leaving Shelves Soon?
It all started with a video posted to TikTok posted late Monday night from the account @candymeup. Nema Causey, the creator behind the username, runs the account on behalf of her family's wholesale candy business by the same name. In the video, Nema claimed that she had been told by Candy Me Up's brokers (the middlemen between candy wholesalers and manufacturers) that Perfetti Van Melle — Airheads' manufacturer — was halting production on the candy immediately. They also warned that the candy wouldn't return to shelves until 2024.
The video has since been taken down by TikTok due to being reported for misinformation (more on that later) but you can still see it in a response video stitched by the Airheads account (even more on that later, too). Comments on @candymeup's video ranged from devastated fans of the candy to other candy retailers backing up Nema's claims. Various retail and wholesale accounts echoed Nema's sentiment in the comments, writing they had heard the same from their brokers.
Since the video was posted, Airheads has posted several replies to their social media vehemently denying Nema's claims. They even went on to post a behind-the-scenes look into the Airheads factory to show that production on the candy was, indeed, still going. In a statement to Allrecipes, representation for Perfetti Van Melle wrote,
"Recently a TikTok user posted a video with some "big news" about Airheads sparking mass online pandemonium amongst our loyal fans, with many looking to rush to the store to stock up. While we feel preparing for an emergency is always prudent, alas, today, just like every other day, Airheads were in full production. Fortunately for us all, we can debunk the rumor! Straight from the team behind Airheads, we want everyone to know we're still making Airheads."
I reached out to Nema to hear her side of the whole ordeal. First off, Nema clarified that she made the video to educate consumers and fans of the product, not to create some kind of artificial shortage or boost sales. She reiterated she was just relaying what her candy broker had said to her family's longstanding wholesale business, Candy Me Up. She was just looking to spread the word to fans, especially at a time when consumers have become accustomed to shortages.
Nema also clarified that TikTok took the video down, not her, after it was reported as misinformation once Airheads posted their reply. Before the video was taken down, and even since, she's received a bevy of hateful comments claiming she was pushing the lies to boost her sales. In a response video posted to @candymeup, Nema apologized for causing a commotion and even posted proof of the email she got from her broker that sparked the video's creation in the first place.
The Bottom Line
Who is to believe? Was this all a big marketing ploy? If so, by whom? It's hard to say. My leading theory is that it was Nema's broker trying to push an alternative taffy products' sales by perhaps relaying a partial truth. Retailers and customers in the comments on both Candy Me Up and Airheads' videos still contend that stocking issues and shortages had become commonplace for certain Airheads products, so I wouldn't be surprised if some products were being manufactured less or not at all for periods of time.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/2_1-backgrounds-ff1d9ced890f44f1b8d488e4bb7651c1.png "Are Airheads Really Out of Stock Until 2024? (1)")
Nema was also quick to point out that Airheads has gotten a load of free PR from the scandal. Their response video racked up over half a million views on TikTok and their account went from a few thousand followers earlier in the week to over 17k at our last count. Do I think it was all a big marketing scheme on Airheads' part, as some commenters have theorized? No. Was it a nice reminder to the company that they have fans all over the internet? Sure.
If we're to believe Airheads' video (and their hilarious factory workers), it appears that at least not all of their candies are leaving shelves, and your Halloween hauls will likely still feature their confections. Is this long-term? Only time will tell if they stay on shelves in the long run. With supply chain issues and labor shortages as they are now, it's likely some Airheads products may be in short supply for some time. So if there is one candy in particular that you love, I'd still advise you to stock up, because there are no guarantees in this day and age.
