It's About To Get Harder To Get Sriracha - Here's Why
If you thought the sriracha shortage was over, think again. USA Today is reporting that Huy Fong Foods, producer of the quintessential rooster logo sriracha, will be halting operations until after Labor Day. The company informed wholesale buyers of its decision in a letter last week, signaling at least four months without new shipments of the beloved hot sauce. This marks at least the third time that Huy Fong has halted sriracha production since 2020. Last year's shortage forced a trend of sriracha bidding on eBay that saw bottle prices climb to outrageous heights. Could more of the same be in store?
Experts have blamed the work stoppage on a severe drought in Mexico that has devastated agriculture and threatened municipal water supplies. The drought is most severe in Northern Mexico, where most of the jalapeño peppers used to make Huy Fong's sriracha sauce are grown. Sriracha is made with red jalapeños, which are the same as green jalapeños, except that they have been allowed to fully mature on the vine before picking. The drought has prevented the peppers from reaching this ripe, red stage.
Red jalapeños have a more complex flavor profile than their more common green counterparts. They tend to be both sweeter and spicier than green jalapeños. Without a crop of red jalapeños, sriracha just isn't sriracha.
The falling out that led Huy Fong Foods to Mexico
Huy Fong Foods didn't always source its peppers from Mexico either. In fact, for almost three decades, Huy Fong Foods used red jalapeños grown by Southern California-based Underwood Ranches. Then, in late 2016, the two companies got locked in a dispute over pricing for the next year's crop. After a series of back-and-forth lawsuits, they severed ties for good, and Underwood Ranches launched a rival sriracha brand using its own peppers.
Huy Fong Foods has since struggled to find a dependable supplier, turning to Mexico, where production and labor costs are cheaper and more readily available. This caused problems even before the drought-induced pepper shortage, with fans of the sauce taking to Reddit to complain that it just doesn't taste the same. Many commented that they've switched their loyalty to Underwood Ranches, and the iconic rooster bottle is starting, for the first time, to look like an underdog.