WEST ASHLEY — Refrigerated shelves at Whole Foods in West Ashley were bare June 11 behind labels of its “365 by Whole Foods Market” brand cream cheese and milk.
Other out-of-stock products included frozen desserts, large gallons of water and eggs.
Printed signs on the coolers stated, “We are experiencing a temporary out of stock issue for some of our products.”
The lack of inventory is a trickledown effect from a cyberattack on United Natural Foods, a major distributor for the Amazon-owned supermarket chain, that caused it to shut down its network June 6.
United Natural Foods announced June 9 in its third-quarter earnings report that it had “proactively taken some systems offline,” hampering its ability to fulfill orders.
The empty back wall of refrigerated products at the Savannah Highway Whole Foods store was a surprise to shopper and West Ashley resident Meghan Daly, who said she was unaware of the cyberattack.
“I wanted milk and Greek yogurt. I thought they were just restocking, I didn’t realize they were out completely,” she said, adding that she’d have to make a stop at another grocery store for the out-of-stock items. “I have other errands to run, so it would be nice to have gotten it all here.”
United Natural Foods said June 11 that there has been movement in bringing its operations back to normal, two days after the cyberattack was disclosed.
“As of today, we’re gradually bringing our ordering and receiving capabilities back online, with the goal of further increasing our capacity over the coming days,” said Grace Turiano, director of external communications for the company. “The investigation is ongoing with the support of leading forensics experts.”
The cyberattack is the latest in a string of breaches hitting well-known retailers, grocery chains and other consumer-facing businesses.
On May 29, a breach at Victoria’s Secret caused the lingerie brand to take its U.S. site offline for nearly four days.
According to the Associated Press, a message to customers in place of the brand’s shopping site stated it had halted operations “as a precaution.”
In addition to the swaths of missing products from the cyberattack on United Natural Foods, eggs at the West Ashley Whole Foods were also sparse from shelves this week. Additional signage said the issue stemmed from difficulty “sourcing eggs that meet our strict animal welfare standards.”
Eggs have been a sore spot for consumers this year with a string of bird influenza upping the cost of a dozen as high as $9 in some South Carolina stores.
In the last two years, the outbreak has affected roughly 102.6 million hens, according to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Farmers have responded to the outbreak by culling flocks, causing egg supplies to plummet nationwide.
At Whole Foods, all eggs used in kitchens and bakehouses must be “cage-free or better,” the company said on its website. “And all the eggs in our dairy cases must go beyond cage free to meet our Animal Welfare Standards for Laying Hens.”
