Supply Chain Shortage Real Causes

Supply Chain Shortage Real Causes

Around this time of year, we always have a large dish of jelly beans over the Easter Holidays on a table between the kitchen and the family room. It’s our habit to take some traveling through the area. I don’t eat multi-colored jelly beans at once—I’ll eat purple, or green, or yellow, but only one color at a time. Red, of course is my favorite.

I’ve noticed fewer red jelly beans than any others, which I first attributed to a supply chain shortage. But why only red? It must be the dye! There’s a shortage of red dye. But a few make it through if I dig down into the pile.

I decided to test my theory by examining the large jar of jelly beans in the pantry from which my wife fills the dish several times a week. To my surprise, there was an equal amount of red jelly beans in the jar from the store. I was reminded of this and wanted to mention it to my wife when, unobserved by her, I saw her refilling the dish in the kitchen—and meticulously taking out the red jelly beans and eating them.