With Huy Fong’s iconic sriracha, a Vietnamese refugee created a new American consumer category—then lost it to Tabasco

Sriracha (Credit: Justin Sullivan—Getty Images)

In United States culinary history, only a few recipes have appealed so widely to consumers’ palates that their flavor spawned an entire category of consumer product. Among them: Sunshine Biscuits’ Hydrox cookie (forerunner of the Oreo); Heinz’s sweet, vinegary take on tomato catsup; and the medicinal syrup that became Coca-Cola. 

Almost a century after those iconic products hit the shelves, another joined the pantheon in 1980: Huy Fong Foods’ sriracha sauce. Created in Los Angeles, the bright red chili-garlic sauce can now be found in one in three U.S. kitchens, according to the market research firm Circana.