Watching your products fly off the shelves is not usually regarded as a problem by most companies. But for the Australian maker of a popular baby milk powder, demand from China is resulting in shortages on domestic shelves and anger among loyal customers.
A surge in sales ahead of China's online discount shopping day, Single's Day, which falls on Wednesday, has worsened the problem.
Bellamy's Australia has now apologised to its customers, many of whom have been unable to find cans of formula in their local supermarket.
The Tasmania-based company, which makes Australia's only certified organic infant formula, blamed "unprecedented demand" for its products last month.
Following angry comments from customers, Bellamy's said on its Facebook page that "purchases of products solely for the practice of on‐selling in overseas markets has led to limited stocks of [its] products on the shelves of Australian retailers".
The popularity of foreign baby milk products has prompted some Chinese people in Australia to snap up cans to resell to Chinese buyers.
