- In a letter to customers in April, Huy Fong Foods said its facing a "severe shortage of chili."
- The company said weather conditions are affecting the quality of peppers it uses in chili sauces.
- Without the chili peppers, Huy Fong said it's unable to produce Sriracha, Chili Garlic, and Sambal Oelek.
The iconic chili sauce with the rooster on its bottle might be missing from grocery shelves soon.
Huy Fong Foods Inc., the company that makes sriracha, has suspended production of the sauce, along with its chili garlic and sambal oelek sauces, because of a chili pepper shortage.
In a letter to customers in April, the company said it's experiencing a "severe shortage of chili" because of weather conditions where the chili peppers are grown. Huy Fong told Axios its chili peppers come from Mexico, which is currently in a drought.
"Unfortunately, this is out of our control and without this essential ingredient we are unable to produce any of our products (Chili Garlic, Sambal Oelek, and Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce)," the company wrote in the letter to customers.
The company already experienced a chili pepper shortage in July 2020, according to the letter.
"Unfortunately, we can confirm that there is an unprecedented shortage of our products," Huy Fong Management said in a statement to Insider.
The company added that it's trying to tackle the problems "caused by several spiraling events, including unexpected crop failure from the spring chili harvest." Huy Fong is hoping "for a fruitful fall season," it said in the statement.
In the April letter to customers, Huy Fong said orders for the affected sauces submitted on or after April 19, 2022 would be scheduled for after Labor Day in the order they were received. Customers who did not receive an order confirmation would have to wait until September as well, the letter said.
In the beginning of May, the price for a 2-pack of 28 oz. Sriracha Chili Hot Sauce was $12.91, according to Keepa, a website that tracks Amazon pricing. That same selection on Amazon was listed at $19.96 on Thursday.