Limited supply and increased demand means there are fewer chocolate Flakes to dunk into 99 ice cream cones.
The recent improvement in conditions and easing of lockdown restrictions have seen demand for Cadbury's Flakes soar.
However, supply has struggled to keep up and the beloved 99s are now at risk of vanishing from shops, vans and ice-cream parlours.
In a statement released to the Irish Times, Mondalez, the company that now owns Cadbury, confirmed reports of the shortages but said that they're working hard to meet the demand.
A spokesperson said: “We are seeing a recent increase in demand for our Cadbury 99 Flake in Ireland, The product is still available to order and we’re continuing to work closely with our customers."
The origins of 99 are uncertain.
One claim states that it originated from Portobello, Scotland, where Stefano Arcari who had opened a shop in 1922 at 99 Portobello High Street. Arcari would break a large "Flake" in half and stick it in ice cream but the name came from the shop's address.
Elsewhere, another address-based claim for the beloved ice cream is made by the Dunkerleys in Gorton, Manchester, who operated a sweet shop at 99 Wellington Street.
The report states that: "The 99 is so-called in honour of the elite guard made up of 99 soldiers who traditionally protected Italian monarchs. The chocolate maker borrowed the number name to appeal to expat Italians who dominated the ice-cream business in Ireland and Britain at the time."
The Cadbury website says that the reason behind the Flake being called a "99" has been "lost in the mists of time".
