TikTok trend drains Clinkers from Australian shelves as $7 candy goes viral
Viral color reveal challenge prompts shortages at Coles and Woolworths, leaving shelves bare as shoppers chase the popular candy.
A viral TikTok trend has emptied shelf space for Clinkers at Coles and Woolworths, with shoppers reporting scarce stock of the $7 bags across multiple stores in Australia.
The challenge asks participants to bite into a Clinker and reveal the color inside pink, yellow or green to decide bets, dares or daily decisions. The simple game has become a nationwide social phenomenon, drawing millions of views and sending shoppers to grocery aisles in search of the candy as demand surges beyond what stores expected.
In one Woolworths store, a staffer tried to film a clip for the trend but found the Clinkers shelf completely bare. The worker later joked about improvising with another candy such as M&Ms, noting that the colors were already visible and thus the game could not be replicated in the same way.
On social media, shoppers responded in mixed fashion. Some vented frustration about not finding Clinkers, while others embraced the joke, offering DIY substitutes and joking about the unpredictable reach of online trends. A portion of Clinkers fans lamented the shortage, while others found humor in the chaos.
Observers note that this is not the first time a TikTok trend has caused shortages in Australian supermarkets. Earlier this year, a hot honey recipe for a cottage cheese dish and other viral hacks wiped shelves clean for items such as cottage cheese, feta pasta ingredients, and related staples as audiences translated online recipes into in-store shopping.
Retailers say they are watching trends and restocking as capacity allows, but the rapid spread of social-media-driven demand makes inventory management challenging for some products. The episode underscores how consumer behavior now travels instantly online and can reshape demand for ordinary grocery items overnight.
Clinkers, a longstanding candy in Australian lolly aisles, have become an unlikely case study in the social-media era, illustrating how online trends can influence markets even for small, everyday purchases. As retailers adapt, shoppers should expect further volatility when new memes irrupt into grocery aisles.