Your Favorite Sriracha Could Be in Short Supply All Summer
Huy Fong Foods is having problems with its peppers.
Jay L. Clendenin/Getty Images
If you can’t get enough heat with your breakfast, lunch or dinner and you’re used to reaching for that familiar red and green bottle of sriracha with a rooster on the side to spice things up, you may have to get your fix elsewhere this summer. California-based Huy Fong Foods, the makers of what has become one of the most popular condiments in America, says they’re once again halting production.
That’s according to a letter sent to the food company’s buyers and first made public by USA Today. The gist is that Huy Fong Foods uses a specific variety of mature, red jalapeño chili peppers to get its signature color and kick, but the most recent crop of those fiery fruits aren’t living up to the saucemaker’s standards.
“After reevaluating our supply of chili, we have determined that it is too green to proceed with production as it is affecting the color of the product,” the letter read, according to USA Today. “We regret to inform you that we have decided to halt production until after Labor Day, when our next chili season starts.” Huy Fong Foods also informed its buyers that all orders from May 6, 2024 and beyond will be effectively canceled and given a status of “pending.” According to the USA Today piece, the shortage of peppers will also impact Huy Fong’s Chili Garlic and Sambal Oelek products.
Does this automatically mean there will be a shortage? Not necessarily, as backstocked bottles may still be hitting shelves. But Huy Fong Foods’ sriracha has been in short supply before. The company warned of production issues in 2022 and a lack of available product in 2023 (both of which were eventually resolved).
But keeping Huy Fong’s stream of sriracha steady and consistent has proven difficult dating back to 2017 when the brand had a falling out with its (at the time) exclusive pepper supplier Underwood Ranches. A legal dispute over breach of contract found Huy Fong Foods liable for $23.3 million owed to Underwood Ranches (which, it should be noted, now makes its own sriracha product). This also left the beloved 44-year-old hot sauce brand seeking a new source for its most-essential ingredient. Since then, there have even been anecdotal claims that the sauce just doesn’t taste the same.
In the past, any looming lack of sriracha has prompted fans to stockpile bottles — or even swipe them from restaurants. So even if Huy Fong Foods ramps up production in the fall, you can probably expect demand to heat up in the next few months.
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