Howdy!

I hope your humpday is pleasant unlike this hot and spicy tale of a spicy sauce we have below.

Truth Behind the Sriracha Shortage

Before we even get into the main story here is the kicker of the whole thing. In the literal sense of sauces called Sriracha, there isn’t a shortage of those actually. I can guarantee you, that you can walk into almost any store now and buy a sauce called Sriracha.

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Hah almost had you there, You thought I was going to leave you hanging huh? Bad joke aside, my above statement holds true. In terms of sauces called Sriracha, there isn’t much of a shortage of those right now.

Okay, so you’re probably wondering why the heck do I see Sriracha selling on Amazon for almost $80 a bottle if there actually isn’t a shortage? Well even though you can get a Sriracha sauce in stores it’s not the Sriracha sauce you want. That’s because Huy Fong the company that made Sriracha famous all through the world, with its distinct red-hued bottle with a green top and rooster logo, is the one experiencing a shortage. I mean no one uses any other brand of Sriracha and frankly, I’m sure no one wants any other brand. People might think you have reading issues if you’ve purposely bought off-brand Sriracha before this shortage. Think of this another way this is like saying there’s a tissue shortage when only Kleenex is having supply issues. Yeah, there are other brands of tissues not called Kleenex but you might as well be using cardboard to blow your nose then. I don’t want to be using cardboard brand Srirach. Huy Fong please get yourself together.

How did Huy Fong end up in this precarious situation though? The story Huy Fong is that of what the so-called immigrant “American Dream” is made of. Its founder David Tran started the rooster sauce company in California in 1980 after fleeing Vietnam after the war to avoid prosecution. To not dive into the entire history of the brand, it’s safe to say David has had massive success since starting the company growing Huy Fong to a multi-million company and creating a product recognized worldwide that has now spawned a flurry of inferior copycats.

One of the keys to the sauce company’s growth is having a steady supply of the red jalapenos needed to make Sriracha, which gives it both its spice and color. David Tran still early in his Sriracha rise was able to secure a steady supply of these peppers by striking a fruitful partnership with underwood farms also located in California. The Cali-based companies both enjoyed growth as Huy Fong continued to grow with demand for Sriracha continuing to grow, it needed more peppers from Underwood Farms. This is until they renegotiated their contracts in 2016.

Now this is where some parts turn into a he-said they-said so I’ll just list the knowns. After renewing the contract in 2016, in 2017 Huy Fong sued Underwood Farms. Underwood actually won the trial though but following it Underwood stopped supplying peppers to Huy Fong ending a fruitful and long-lasting relationship. Huy Fong has then found new suppliers for peppers but since July of 2020, those current suppliers based in Mexico have been experiencing drought and crop failures thus causing Huy Fong’s shortage. Jalapenos are delicate crops to grow which in itself can cause varied results depending on the farmer’s experience. Combined with the harsher climates Mexico has been facing it might be harder for Huy Fong to get the peppers it needs.

I’m not one to say Huy Fong should have or shouldn’t have sued its key ingredient’s major supplier but the consequences are definitely being felt right now. One thing for sure though right now is that if you have some OG Sriracha sauce right now, treat it like liquid gold.