Sriracha Is Hard To Find, but Huy Fong Foods Isn’t Going Out of Business
Sriracha lovers have been complaining about not being able to find the condiment in stores. Is sriracha maker Huy Fong Foods going out of business?
June 13 2022, Published 8:24 a.m. ET
Restaurants and consumers across the U.S. have been struggling to find sriracha hot sauce. The shortage adds to the growing list of hard-to-find items, such as Jif peanut butter, almond milk, and Abbott’s baby formula. Is sriracha maker Huy Fong Foods going out of business?
Most retailers have run out of sriracha, including e-tailers such as Amazon. In addition to sriracha, Huy Fong Foods makes two other sauces: chili garlic and sambal oelek.
What’s causing the hot sauce shortage?
Sriracha's key ingredient is chilis sourced from Mexico, New Mexico, and California. They've been hard to come by because of drought.
In a letter posted on a food distribution website, Huy Fong Foods wrote, “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.” The company stated it would ship any orders received on or after April 19 after Labor Day.
Some blame climate change for the sriracha shortage
While some product shortages are due to the Russia-Ukraine war and supply-chain issues, the sriracha shortage is due to adverse weather conditions attributed to climate change. Numerous companies have been taking steps to address the matter.
Is sriracha maker Huy Fong Foods going out of business?
Since Huy Fong Foods is privately held, we don’t know much about the company’s finances. However, it seems set to resume production once it can buy chilis.
When will sriracha be available?
In a statement to NBC News, Huy Fong Foods said, “We are still endeavoring to resolve this issue that has been caused by several spiraling events, including unexpected crop failure from the spring chili harvest.” It added, “We hope for a fruitful fall season and thank our customers for their patience and continued support during this difficult time.”
For now, the sriracha shortage has prompted some restaurants to ration the sauce. Kentucky-based Brady's Sushi and Hibachi has rationed it in addition to its in-house spicy mayo sauce, which also contains sriracha. Others are using alternatives amid the shortage.
