Popular Asian sauce disappears from supermarkets after major supply concerns

For those who love a bit of spice in our lives, we tend to turn to Asian spices for a bit of a kick.

From powdered ingredients to popular chilli crisps, there are many ways to bring new flavours to our meals.

However, an iconic sauce's recent absence from Aussie supermarket shelves became a hot topic of conversation.


Huy Fong's Sriracha sauce, known for its distinctive green cap and rooster logo, recently went missing from supermarket aisles, leaving fans confused about its disappearance.

The mystery behind the missing sriracha is not due to a dip in its following but rather a supply chain hiccup.

Huy Fong Foods Inc., the company behind the sauce, issued a statement last April regarding their stocks.


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Huy Fong Foods Inc. carried several chilli items popular among food lovers. Image Credit: Huy Fong Foods Inc.


'After re-evaluating our supply of chilli, we have determined that it is too green to proceed with production as it is affecting the colour of the product,' the company wrote in a statement.

'Although this does not affect the quality and flavour of the sauce, we regret to inform you that we have decided to halt production until after Labour Day—the first Monday of September in the US—when our next chilli season starts.'

In 2022, the company also experienced a chilli shortage attributed to poor weather conditions in California, New Mexico, and Mexico.

This shortage stretched into 2023.

Production tentatively resumed in July 2023, yet it slowly met the high demand for the spicy sauce.


The scarcity of Huy Fong sriracha led fans to ration their remaining bottles and share their distress on social media.

One user lamented, 'I'm down to my last one to two bottles of the original Huy Fong Sriracha and need a replacement.'

Woolworths confirmed that it has been months since they stocked the sauce on their shelves.

Woolworths and Coles tagged all Huy Fong products as out of stock on their websites and offered alternative brands such as Flying Goose, Trident, and Tiao Hu.

However, for the die-hard Huy Fong fans, these substitutes do not hit the same fiery notes.


Huy Fong was founded in California by a Vietnamese refugee, David Tran, in 1980.

For three decades, Huy Fong's chilli supply came from Underwood Ranches, but this long-standing relationship ended in a legal dispute in 2017.

The fallout resulted in a jury awarding $23.3 million to Underwood Ranches after a contract breach and committed fraud.

As we await the return of Huy Fong's sriracha to our local supermarket shelves, it's a reminder of the complexities behind the production of our favourite goods.

In the meantime, adventurous food lovers could take this as an opportunity to explore other hot sauce options or even attempt to make their homemade sriracha sauce.
Key Takeaways

  • Huy Fong Foods Inc. temporarily suspended the production of its sriracha sauce due to a supply issue with its chilli crop.
  • As a result of the halted production, Huy Fong sriracha sauce bottles disappeared from Aussie supermarket shelves.
  • Huy Fong Foods Inc. stated that the production will resume by September, just in time for the new chilli season.
  • Huy Fong also faced similar production issues in 2022 after severe weather conditions affected their chilli crops.
Do you use the Huy Fong sriracha sauce at home? You may have your ways to spice your meals up at home. Share your tales and cooking tips with us in the comments below!
 
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