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‘Help’: Airtasker user Gabriella's desperate $200 offer for rare grocery item

Hamish SpenceNCA NewsWire
Gabriella L will pay $200 on Airtasker for someone to brings them Starburst lollies. Supplied
Camera IconGabriella L will pay $200 on Airtasker for someone to brings them Starburst lollies. Supplied Credit: Supplied

A woman has revealed the desperate lengths she is willing to go to after her favourite lollies vanished from Australian shelves.

Airtasker user Gabriella L from Sydney’s southeast shared her dismay last week when she could not find Starburst lollies anywhere.

Gabriella explained she could not eat another sweet because “no other lollies compare to Starburst”.

“Ever since I was a kid Starbursts were my favourite treat, they were always my no-brainer. My parents would say I could have them as a treat,” she told NCA NewsWire.

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Gabriella put her money where her mouth is to secure the sweets, offering to pay $200 on Airtasker for someone to get them for her.

Starburst
Camera IconGabriella L will pay $200 on Airtasker for someone to brings them Starburst lollies. Supplied Credit: Supplied

“Find me Starburst lollies ASAP,” she posted.

“Literally no other lollies compare to Starburst and I can’t find any.

“I NEED to stock up on fruit chews, snakes and jelly beans so please help me find as many (as you can).”

Gabriella thought she would have some better luck with more people on the task.

“All of a sudden they were disappearing from shelves, which is why I thought I would utilise Airtasker to help me have more than one set of hands and eyes while trying to find them,” she said.

Gabriella set a flexible due date of September 10 for the precious sweets to be delivered to her.

So far two people have offered to help out and Gabriella plans to assign someone to the task when she returns home to Sydney on Friday.

But unfortunately for Gabriella, there is a reason that she has not been able to find any Starburst lollies.

Starburst’s manufacturer Mars Wrigley revealed last week it was no longer stocking the sweets in Australia.

“We regularly review our Mars Wrigley product range to ensure we’re offering our consumers great tasting products that are also great value for money,” a Mars Wrigley spokesperson said.

“Our Starburst products are imported from Europe, and like many businesses that are importing products from overseas, the brand has been exposed to supply chain difficulties and rising cost pressures over the last two years.

“After reviewing all options, we’ve made the difficult decision to discontinue the brand in Australia from June 2022.

Starburst products have been discontinued in Australia.
Camera IconStarburst products have been discontinued in Australia. Credit: Supplied

“As a proud Australian manufacturer for more than 60 years, we are taking this opportunity to prioritise and invest in the brands and products we make locally in Australia such as M & Ms, Maltesers, Skittles, Snickers, Extra and Eclipse.”

Gabriella said she was “disappointed” her beloved Starbursts were no longer being stocked on Australian shelves but hoped that she could secure the last remaining skerricks.

“Them being discontinued off the shelves, I’m definitely disappointed. Every child likes to remember Starbursts,” she said.

“I still believe that some of the supermarkets, maybe they’d be smaller or larger, would have some on the shelves.

“Which is why again, I thought being able to have more than one person looking for them might mean some better luck.”

But once she has exhausted every available resource in Australia, Gabriella did not rule out looking overseas.

“If I'm someone that went as far as utilising Airtasker for a task like this, I think trying to find a resource overseas is definitely something I would do as well,” she said.

Originally published as ‘Help’: Airtasker user Gabriella's desperate $200 offer for rare grocery item

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