The commercial and home markets are for different products such as different size rolls and different tissue thickness, let alone the difference between bulk and consumer packaging. While manufacturing technologies are similar between the two, shifting capacity to emphasize home supply likely involves some kind of retooling and delivery lags, assuming plants were operating at near capacity to supply the two markets that were easy to forecast absent the sudden change in product demand that the pandemic caused.
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Exactly. The demand, seemingly in much of the “first world”, is unprecedented. I imagine none of us have previously gone into a supermarket before and found there were no toilet rolls at all. Everyone involved in the process - retailer, manufacturer, producer - will have been taken completely by surprise. It takes time to meet the initial demand to restock the shelves - a much larger order than manufacturers would have expected.
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This all makes sense! Thanks for the deep dive
Things like TP is a self-fulfilling prophecy. People buy a lot and the shelves empty. Restock and people remember empty shelves and buy out the stock. There are people sitting in their parlors streaming Netflix surrounded by toilet roll.
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True! But here in NJ, stores have limited purchases to one package per person – and they’ve been doing that for a few weeks now.
There’s probably an element of lots of people buying one whenever they visit the shop “just in case” there’s none when they need it. It becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. For a time, years back, I worked as a purchasing manager so I have a sort of interest in these supply issues. It does go to show how fragile the “just in time” supply process can be and, probably, just how long lead times can be.
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I read an article recently (forget source - in my head as credible) that part of the difficulty with getting flour on the market shelves is due to packaging and not the flour itself. Supply chains are more complex than most people realize.
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Exactly the issue in the UK, as reported in this BBC article:
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The baker making flour available was heartwarming. Independent bakeries are in short supply in the US.
Woody Allen fans should know Annie Hall and Manhattan will be on tonight, Thursday on Turner Classic Movies at 7 pm CDT.
I’ve taken to recording and re watching movies multiple times lately. You catch something different every time just like when you re read a book.
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If you’re bored you can always try making oyster mayonnaise. Saw this on Simply Ming today. Raw egg yolks, raw oysters, flavored vinegar and a lot of neutral oil. Whip it up and it keeps for a week in the fridge. If the virus doesn’t get you this just might by day 7…
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Lol 
, if the oysters aren’t already infected with Hep A, and the raw eggs with salmonella. Fairly rare, but risky for some people. An old big boss of mine got Hepatitis A, traced back to raw oysters he had eaten. He was one sick looking man, when he was all jaundiced and popped into the office one day. Made a full recovery before dying from cancer. Sad.
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That is awesome.
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Things to do may be in the kitchen. I read this article https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/british-bakers-reintroduce-world-war-ii-bread-coronavirus-fight-n1180536 which brought our UK colleagues and friends to mind. I found this http://thewartimekitchen.com/?p=106 but defer to our bakers for advice.
It also brings my well-thumbed 1951 fourth edition of Joy of Cooking to mind. Supply chains were entirely different 75 years ago.
As far as I can tell, the “national loaf” in the link seems to be a fairly standard wholemeal loaf that Mrs H makes fairly regularly. Interestingly, the recipe in the second link comes from Jane Fearnley-Whittingstall, mother of chef and TV cook, Hugh F-W.
By the by, in my Great War food book “Bully Beef & Biscuits”, I end each chapter with three recipes. Here’s one for macaroni pudding, taken from Simple Cookery for the People, 10th edition, circa 1916
2oz macaroni
1 pint milk
1 egg
1 tablespoonful sugar
A little grated nutmeg or lemon rind
(Average cost 4d)
Break the macaroni into short pieces, simmer it in the milk for half an hour, mix in the sugar and, when a little cool, the egg well beaten. Flavour with the nutmeg or lemon rind, put into a greased pie dish. Or the macaroni may be cooked separately and put straight into the pie dish. Bake for about 15 minutes.
This was a rare dessert recipe that required actual baking, rather than the more common steamed puddings.
I found your book on amazon.co.uk and amazon.com. From reading your bio should I call you Prof John? grin Good reviews on the book. I will try your macaroni pudding when I figure what to do with the second pint of a box of UHT milk.
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Heaven knows where they got that from. But it is not me! I feel defamed - being portrayed like that, so far from the truth.
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Perfect! I just had 50 oysters sent to me, and I’m the only one here who eats them!
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