A WinCo Foods shopper posted a viral video saying that Huy Fong Foods sriracha is now brown instead of red. Here’s what we know about how that came to be.
Lauren Paige (@kindergartenthoughts) has reached over 206,000 views on her TikTok. She added a caption to her video asking viewers, “Have you seen the brown Sriracha lately?”
To start her 1-minute video, Paige adds an on-screen photo of a bottle of Huy Fong sriracha. She also added a caption that read, “Brown sriracha?”
She begins to explain how she took the on-screen photo of the brown sriracha at her local WinCo Foods in San Diego. She says, “Sriracha used to be this bright red.”
To give more context, Paige says that Huy Fong will be halting their production of sriracha until after Labor Day. “They sent a letter to their wholesale buyers saying after reevaluating their supply of chili, they’ve decided that it’s too green.” Therefore, Huy Fong will be waiting to produce any more sriracha until they receive the next batch of chilis.
The New York Times confirms that Huy Fong Foods released a letter “announcing the pause, saying its chilis were “too green to proceed with production as it is affecting the color of the product.”
Paige says, “I don’t know what would make the chilis too green, some people are waying in, saying that it’s lack of maturity … they harvested the crop too early.”
According to CBS News, “If too many peppers are green jalapeños, that means they are the immature color of the reds.”
“They haven’t reached proper maturity, so it could be a timing issue, like maybe they were planted too late or adverse environmental conditions slowed down the ripeness,” the site continues.
Next, Paige addresses that “we just got sriracha back.” She adds that Huy Fong sriracha was “out of the stores for at least a year and then it’s just got back.”
Amid a COVID-related supply chain issues in July 2020, Huy Fong warned the public that a “sriracha shortage loomed,” the Takeout states. “The company cited severe drought issues as the cause of the shortage, and reiterated this when it suspended production in April 2022,” the site continues.
When trying the brown sriracha, Paige says that she did notice “a little difference from the original to the new one, but it was good, it was sriracha.”
Before ending her video, she says that Huy Fong is most likely getting complaints because “it tastes just as good, but the look of it is just jolting and it doesn’t sit right.”
Wait so why is siracha now brown?
A viewer in the comment section of Paige’s video told her, “Sriracha has always used peppers from the same farmer since the beginning. Recently they got into legal battles and separated so they don’t have the same peppers.”
Forbes states that, “Huy Fong’s supplier issues started in 2017 when it cut ties with its longtime pepper partner, Underwood Ranches.”
After Huy Fong split with its supplier, other brands stepped in to help out. “Tabasco even launched a website dedicated to helping people find substitute sriracha. Even Huy Fong’s former supplier, Underwood Ranches, launched its own competing product,” Forbes continues.
@kindergartenthoughts Have you seen the brown Sriracha lately? #sriracha #srirachashortage #srirachasauce #huyfongsriracha #brownsriracha #redsriracha ♬ original sound – Lauren Paige
Paige has been featured in other Daily Dot headlines. In a recent video, Paige caused controversy with viewers after saying why she leaves hotels without checking out.
The Daily Dot reached out to request a comment from Paige via the TikTok comment section and direct message, and Huy Fong Foods via email.
