Huy Fong Foods gives an update on the Sriracha shortage

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Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce, made by California-based Huy Fong Foods, is one of the most popular hot sauces in the world.

Back in July 2020, the company was experiencing a shortage of chili pepper inventory, and it’s been dealing with the same issue again since last year.

On April 19, 2022, the company sent out a letter informing customers that there was a “severe shortage of chili” and that the company would be halting production of some of its most popular products (like Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce).

“Currently, due to weather conditions affecting the quality of chili peppers, we now face a more severe shortage of chili,” Huy Fong Foods stated in the customer letter.

“Unfortunately, this is out of our control and without this essential ingredient we are unable to produce any of our products.”

Just over a year later, we have an update.

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“Unfortunately, we are still experiencing a shortage of raw material,” a representative for Huy Fong Foods tells Dished.

“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.”

The incredibly popular Huy Fong-made Sriracha uses sun-ripened red jalapeño-hybrid chili peppers from Mexico to make its signature product in California, and it’s that pepper that the company now has less of. Less of the pepper means less of the product, which results in higher demand.

“Because we do not sell directly to retail/market levels, we cannot determine when the product will hit shelves again and/or who currently has the product in stock,” they continued.

“We are grateful for your continued patience and understanding during this unprecedented inventory shortage. We are currently working on trying to avoid future shortages.”

Prices on secondary markets have skyrocketed for Sriracha. Bottles have been seen as high as $40 on Amazon and $70 on eBay.

The company also makes the very popular Sambal Oelek and Chili Garlic hot sauces, which have also paused production.

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People are very passionate about their hot sauces and some have been taking to social media throughout this time to express their concerns, hope, anger, need, and more.

Why is a bottle of sriracha 24 dollars

— joce (@Jocelynchang_) June 9, 2023

“This may cause riots,” said one Twitter user.

“This might be the worst food news all year,” commented another.

@THK05 tweeted out, “I have been informed that there will be a Sriracha shortage and now I’m SICK!”

“If something like Sriracha shortage is getting you all worked up, you seem to have no idea how bad this climate thing is going to get in the coming decades,” stated one person on Twitter.

Have you had a hard time finding Sriracha in your area? Let us know in the comments.