For years, hot sauce producers and food industry analysts have been warning about an incoming "sriracha shortage." The hot sauce made from chili peppers originated in Thailand but, around 2015, exploded in popularity after influencers and food brands started sharing it on social media.
At its peak, sales of the hot sauce brought in more than $150 million a year and represented nearly 10% of the hot sauce market in the US.
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As the beloved sriracha flavor relies on a very specific type of red jalapeño-hybrid chili pepper, production and supply are heavily dependent on harvests in Mexico which is where most of the U.S.-based supply comes from.
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Sriracha Bottles Pop Up On eBay
Back in 2020, the company that took sriracha from a general Thai and Vietnamese sauce to something known commercially for its bright green cap and rooster on the bottle sent out a letter warning stores not to "promise" customers steady supply due to heavy droughts in Mexico.
"Unfortunately, we are still experiencing a shortage of raw material," the Irwindale, Calif.-based Huy Fong Foods told news outlets for its 2023 update. To keep supply steady even after the sauce's popularity has gone down, the company needs approximately 50,000 tons of the chilis every year.
While the sriracha craze has gone down since its 2015-2017 peak, it still has a cult following that went into a panic from the news. Even though there are many companies making different versions of sriracha sauce, a package of two original 17-ounce Huy Fong Foods bottles is currently being resold for $117 on Amazon (AMZN) and $70 for a single bottle on eBay (EBAY).
A package of 12 bottles can be purchased for $375 while some are even trying to hawk seven-gram packets normally reserved for restaurant needs individually. When available at a grocery store, a regular 17-ounce bottle retails for between $5 and $7.
At the moment, regular retailers like Walmart (WMT) and Target (TGT) do not have the popular condiment in supply.
Hawkers Try to Capitalize on Shortage Lifecycle
While this shortage is caused largely by weather conditions, similar situations regularly arise whenever a product gets internet-famous or simply proves to be more popular than the producer anticipated.
In March, Girl Scout cookies that normally cost $5 a box were selling for more than $80 on eBay after the new seasonal Raspberry Rally flavor went viral online. One of the most extreme examples is the storied Szechuan Sauce that McDonald's (MCD) launched as a tie-in to Disney (DIS)'s Mulan movie in 1998.
The few times the Golden Arches brought it back, the have been hundred-dollar-a-sachet eBay listings and even fist fights at some locations.
In response to the sriracha shortage panic, Huy Fong Foods has been trying to reassure fans while being careful not to make promises outside of their control.
"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," a spokesperson told news outlets in a statement. "We are grateful for your continued patience and understanding during this unprecedented inventory shortage.
Due to the poor crop of peppers, Huy Fong Foods is also underproducing its Chili Garlic and Sambal Oelek sauces.
