An unexpected post from a Sydney Instagram influencer has caused a frenzy for a West Auckland coffee company, leaving it unable to keep up with demand.
Kristin Fisher, who has more than 31,000 followers on her Instagram page, penned an ode to Avalanche coffee's '99 Percent Sugar Free Drinking Chocolate' last month.
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In the post, Fisher wrote; "I feel like I owe this to my people. This needs to be on my feed. We need to know what is going on with @avalanchecoffee."
The post went on to add that she could not find the product on supermarket shelves.
"So if anyone has any information on the whereabouts of my beloved avalanche hot choc sachets, please comment on this post so we can all get some sleep tonight," she finished the desperate post.
The post sent followers into a frenzy to hunt the product down themselves.
Avalanche Coffee owners Paul Tobin and Stefan Marusich said in a statement they have no connection with Fisher, and were completely surprised to see the product selling out overnight on supermarket shelves around Australia.
"We understand one of the supermarket customers has taken a particular liking to our sugar free drinking chocolate and innocently posted her endorsement to her followers," revealed the Glen Eden-based duo.
"The next day we started getting a wave of new orders from dozens of Woolworths and Coles supermarkets wanting to replenish their stocks.
"We are told customers have been going in and buying up any stock that is left then posting this to their own pages which is contributing to the demand."
Tobin says the post has even been picked up by Aussie news outlets, adding to the shortages.
The success of the recommendation has also caught Fisher by surprise who has since edited her Instagram bio calling herself "Australia's number one hot chocolate influencer!"
Tobin says they are working overtime to keep up with the Australian demand and have been sending air freight shipments every day since the post went live.
He says while trans-Tasman supplies have been depleted, the product is currently still available in New Zealand.
Newshub.
