I have been noticing in the last few months that local grocery stores that you can order delivery from either do not have 19/20 ounce cannisters of orange Kool Aid at all or charge a higher price for them. For instance, in one of the smaller price differences, this (non-local) store has strawberry, grape, cherry, tropical punch and raspberry lemonade for $2.79, but orange is $4.95.
(But then there are other stores that list it for the same price.)
There is no publicized shortage that I could find, but apparently you are not alone. It is suggested…“For the best chance of finding them, check major retailers’ websites (Walmart, Amazon) or local stores for same-day pickup, as inventory changes frequently.” So keep trying every day and sooner or later they should show up again somewhere.
I don’t know about Kool-Aid, but there sure seems to be an orange Crystal Light crisis. I can’t recall the last time I saw any in the store … well, in the packets that make two quarts, anyway. I have seen orange in the smaller packets. Of course, that strikes me as being weirder than if there were simply no orange at all. Why make such a weird distinction for what I am under the impression is, and has always been, a pretty popular flavor? These companies, they vex me.