Although shortages of children’s flu medicine and baby formula left me in a panic in recent years, the rooster sauce known as Huy Fong Foods Sriracha eluding me has left me absolutely ravenous. That is because I consider myself something of a Sriracha fanboy, to the point that I even have a red t-shirt depicting the iconic label that is one of my most treasured possessions. Just why is there a Sriracha shortage, anyway? And why does it seem more expensive nowadays?
Poor crop conditions
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen shortages for Sriracha. Huy Fong Foods previously faced shortages in 2020 and around this same time last year. Both of those were temporary shortfalls, but it seems the same issue has reared its ugly head once again.
Huy Fong Foods’ current shortage comes after drought conditions in Mexico created a poor harvest of chilis last year, according to USA Today. Though the company temporarily recovered their low stock quantities in the fall of last year, a similar problem has cropped up again this year. In a statement from Huy Fong Foods cited in the same USA Today article, the company said they don’t have an estimated time of when their product will be fully restocked.
“Although some production did resume this past fall season, we continue to have a limited supply that continues to affect our production […] At this time, we have no estimations of when supply will increase.”
Price spikes
It has gotten to the point that some grocery stores are now rationing how many bottles of Sriracha sauce customers can buy. The few remaining Huy Fong Sriracha bottles that you can find at grocery stores could be up to 10%-15% more expensive in some cases, depending on the store and where you live.
The California-based company used to produce their chili peppers via “a family-run farm in Ventura County,” according to Richmond News. However, nowadays their chilis are sourced solely from Mexico. This is apparently the result of Huy Fong founder David Tran losing a $23 million lawsuit with the California farm for “breaching its contract and committing fraud, ending a 30-year relationship.”
As a result of this latest drought, Huy Fong Foods Sriracha sauce prices have skyrocketed. For instance, you can now expect to shell out $50 for a regular 28 oz bottle of the red container with a green tip on Amazon nowadays, according to Richmond News. for a box of 50 small Sriracha packets, you could have to pay upwards of $2,000 on the retail site.
Alternate Sriracha sauces
There is no need to despair quite yet. Even though Huy Fong Foods is arguably the most recognizable brand to most people, it is not the only type of Sriracha sauce that you can buy, as The Guardian pointed out. These alternative brands source their raw ingredients from a variety of places, such as in Asia, rather than solely from drought-plagued Mexico. For instance, here is a list of a few examples.
- Bushwick Kitchen’s Weak Knees Gojuchang Sriracha sauce
- Lingham’s Sriracha
- Eaglobe Sriracha
- Pantai Sriracha Chili Sauce
If you fancy yourself a chef, you can also try a hand at making your own Sriracha sauce, albeit with the aid of a food processor or a similar kitchen aid. Since sriracha is made with some arguably basic kitchen ingredients like sugar and salt, garlic, vinegar, and of course chilis, it may be time to save a few bucks and get those hands red and spicy yourself.
Published: Jun 26, 2023 03:11 pm