LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Sriracha is one of the most loved hot sauce brands in the US. However, since last year, people have not been able to find it easily, leading to speculation that the manufacturing company has stopped its production. But as per reports, the manufacturer, Huy Fong Foods, Inc., is still making the legendary hot chili sauce.
However, the hot sauce’s production was halted for some time because of the chili pepper shortage. Now, the company has resumed production but is only making limited quantities. Huy Fong Foods in a statement said, “Unfortunately, we are still experiencing a shortage of raw material. At this time, we have no estimations of when supply will increase,” as reported by KTVB7.
Why is Sriracha sauce unavailable?
The making of Sriracha sauce was reportedly stopped last year because of “unexpected crop failure from the spring chili harvest”. The manufacturer in an email to its customers shared, “Currently, due to weather conditions affecting the quality of chili peppers, we now face a more severe shortage of chili. Unfortunately, this is out of our control and without this essential ingredient we are unable to produce any of our products (Chili Garlic, Sambal Oelek, and Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce).”
Besides this, Huy Fong Foods’ representative reportedly also said at the time, “Unfortunately, we can confirm that there is an unprecedented shortage of our products. We are still endeavoring to resolve this issue that has be caused by several spiraling events, including unexpected crop failure from the spring chili harvest. We hope for a fruitful fall season and thank our customers for their patience and continued support during this difficult time.” According to a report by Los Angeles Times, Sriracha’s producer gets chili peppers from Mexico. However, because of drought conditions, the firm is facing problems in getting enough supply, resulting in very limited production.
‘It’s a sauce with cult status’
As the market is available with a restricted number of Sriracha sauces, online retail players are reportedly selling it at high rates. A bottle of sauce was previously sold for around $5 but now its pricing has apparently been set between $20 to $120. Caleb Chen, of Reno, Nevada, who is a fan of Sriracha sauce reportedly said, “It’s a sauce with cult status and anytime there are supply chain issues, the market goes crazy. I am having a hard time finding the sauce now but that’s why I’m glad I have a backup stock.”
Gena Cox, a self-described “sriracha addict,” noted, “I bought five bottles and keep replenishing them by date. So, I’m sort of a ‘sriracha hoarder. I would not pay $30, though.” Tanya Gulliver-Garcia, another sauce lover, added, “As soon as I heard about it last year, I hit several stores to stock up, and I’m down to one bottle now. The concession I made this year was to switch to a dry sriracha powder that I use while cooking. It’s not exactly the same, but it was available when sriracha [sauce] wasn’t. I’m not looking forward to a continuing shortage.”
