A popular New Zealand kūmara chip brand has been forced to switch to Australian sweet potato instead, as supply crashes to rock bottom.
With the hot summer season roaring in, and a plate of chip and dip looking a lot more likely - there's one chip you won't be seeing on your table spreads.
Proper Crisps' Kūmara chips are going off the shelves as their providers come to the last of its supply.
It comes after Cyclone Gabrielle destroyed 80 percent of New Zealand's kūmara crop earlier this year, after fields were completely sodden due to the devasting flooding.
About 95 percent of New Zealand's kūmara are grown in Kaipara, home to Kaipara Kūmara - the farmers who supply their produce to Proper Crisps.
Forced to find an alternative vegetable
They have now called on their Australian cousin, the sweet potato, and will be undergoing a "sweet switcheroo" until the New Zealand kūmara crop returns.
The sweet potato will be sourced by their factory in Victoria's Yarra Valley, which was established last year to meet growing demand.
"We had very little to sell and in entirety, so we had to make some pretty quick decisions," Proper Crisps spokesperson Duncan Kerr told Newshub.
"Using that sweet potato is what we're doing for the next five to six months."
He said the decision to switch to Australia's potato was a "a last resort".
Crop planting underway for the first time since Cyclone Gabrielle
Kerr said the planting that is currently underway is the first since Cyclone Gabrielle.
"Planting commences around about now and we'll be ready to harvest around about March, maybe February for some varieties," Kerr said.
He said Cyclone Gabrielle completely ruined things for them, as their two most popular products rely on the vegetable.
"The cyclone couldn't have come at a worse time," he said. "It was truly devastating.
"The growers had all spent their money on fertilizer and planting, and all the costs that go with generating a crop and then they had the cyclone come through basically at harvest time."
"This meant there was no kūmara over most of the year, so it meant there was no kūmara to access," he added. "We have to wait until the new season comes, which is in February next year."
'I don't think most people will notice a difference'
Kerr believes the taste is "pretty similar" but admits the "growing conditions are a little different in Australia".
"It is a slight difference, but I don't think most people will notice a difference," he said.
"It still comes down to the way we cook it and the way we season it."
There's no doubt, fans of the tasty chips could have a mixed reaction to the news, however Kerr reassured them it is only for a "temporary time".
"We don't want people to think that we won't go back to kūmara, as soon as the crops are available, we'll be switching back," he said.
"It's better to have something available than not have anything at all."
Kerr said he has a message for fans who may be scared to try the new potato.
"We've taken a lot of work to make sure that we're providing something that's both interesting and tastes really good," he said.
"I think you can take confidence that what we're producing is going to be really good.
"We're expecting to have a good summer and potatoes look like they're going to be in supply."
He said the last remaining crop of kūmara will be used towards the packets of garden medley - which will remain New Zealand sourced.
