Northern Kentucky companies talk supply chain issues, including global warming

To cope with shortages, Northern Kentucky manufacturers are looking to diversify their suppliers, just like their counterparts around the world.

During an Eggs 'n Issues Chamber event Tuesday, candy maker Perfetti Van Melle CEO Sylvia Buxton says it's not just geopolitical and post-COVID events that are causing delays, but also global warming.

"We manufacture confection products," she says. "A lot of our products contain natural ingredients like wheat, glucose, corn, sugar. Those ingredients have been impacted with a lot of the challenges of the environment. And we see that crops are failing and that causes major issues with cost as well as availability."

The maker of Mentos, Airheads and about two dozen other candy brands with U.S. headquarters in Erlanger, is also looking to move more manufacturing to the U.S. This is, in part, because the cost of refrigerated shipping containers — which rose from $5,000 to a high of $32,000 during COVID — still hasn't gone all the way back down.