Grape-Nuts will be back on shelves in March

The Grape-Nuts shortage that ground an already on-edge nation to a halt has been resolved.

Grape-Nuts will start shipping at normal levels by mid-March, its parent company Post Consumer Brands said Thursday, putting an end to a weeks-long shortage sparked by supply chain constraints and higher demand.

“We promised our loyal fans that we would work hard to get Grape-Nuts back on store shelves as quickly as possible, and we are now committing to an earlier-than-anticipated return date,” said Kristin DeRock, Grape-Nuts’ brand manager, who added that the company has ramped up production of the cereal.

Post took the shortage as a marketing opportunity and is running a contest offering free Grape-Nuts for a year, plus $1.50-off coupons as a “token of apology” on its Facebook page.

The scarcity of Grape-Nuts comes as demand for consumer goods has put a strain on supply chains, leading to loss of production. Cereal, a category that was already struggling pre-pandemic, has attracted customers’ attention again as more people are eating breakfast at home.

Post isn’t the only cereal manufacturer battling supply problems. Also on Thursday, Kellogg said it has had trouble keeping Frosted Flakes and Corn Flakes on store shelves, according to Bloomberg.

“We were capacity constrained as we exited the year,” Kellogg CEO Steve Cahillane said on the company’s quarterly earnings call. “Nobody anticipated, obviously, the type of year that cereal would have.”

From 2015 to 2019, the US ready-to-eat cereal market dipped between 1% and 2% each year, according to data from Euromonitor International. By contrast, from 2019 to 2020 the market grew by nearly 20% to about $10.6 billion.

Grape-Nuts has been around since 1897, when it was developed by founder C.W. Post himself, according to the Grape-Nuts website. It’s made with wheat and barley (but no grapes or nuts). Post also makes Honey Bunches of Oats, Pebbles and Raisin Bran brands, among other cereals.

–CNN Business’ Danielle Wiener-Bronner contributed to this report.