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Huy Fong Sriracha: The end of an era. If there's a lesson to be learned here, you don't backstab your sole supplier of 28 years overnight and just go somewhere

by 1-6 3y ago

Huy Fong Sriracha: The end of an era. If there's a lesson to be learned here, you don't backstab your sole supplier of 28 years overnight and just go somewhere else. It's unfortunate that David Tran didn't learn from the Italians who sell their 900-year-old Parmigiano-Reggiano recipe to this day. It's a shame, it seemed like the brand was only getting started and becoming recognized globally as a household name. A small battle with their favored supplier costed them much.

demizer 3y ago
There are a few billion-dollar recipes in the world and the rooster sriracha was one of them. That family fucked up their golden goose... and now all these competing recipes are getting their shine. Greed will get you in the end!
MisterBastahrd 3y ago
There's a cigar company that did the same thing (not naming names because I'm friends with everyone involved). Over 20 years ago, a famous Cuban cigar roller came to the US to start his own cigar business. He worked out of a small factory with other rollers in Miami, and sourced all of his tobacco from a specific farm out of Nicaragua. The deal was that the farm owner would be a part-owner of his tobacco business in exchange for the tobacco since he came from Cuba with nothing. Well, years later the cigar roller is now a cigar magnate, and he wanted his business to be owned by himself and his children, not his business partner. So he started another company on the side and started pushing all of his new brands through that company. The farm owner found out, sued him, and they settled out of court for millions with the caveat that the roller would no longer be able to use any of his farm's tobacco. Cigar roller shrugged his shoulders and kept going. Bought some farmland in Nicaragua and other places, built a fermentation barn, and started growing his own tobacco too, at least what he couldn't source from elsewhere. He also largely stopped making third party cigars aside from his son in law's by way of jacking up the prices on almost all long-run projects by over 100% (to get out of making them). In 20 years he went from being near penniless to being one of the most successful people in the business. Are the cigars as good as they used to be? Hell no. He used to create cigars for third party vendors that would put most of the best Cuban marcas to shame even when you found a quality box of them. But they're good enough for people who don't remember what they used to be, and that's what counts.
- lagniappe 3y ago
  perdomo?
  - MisterBastahrd 3y ago
    Nah. Nick's daddy is a political refugee. Nick never rolled cigars in Cuba.
    - lagniappe 3y ago
      This has been cooking my brain, now I must know :)
      - MisterBastahrd 3y ago
        His SIL is also famous in the cigar world. The SIL's initials are PHJ.
        lagniappe 3y ago
        Ah ok, I think I have a good idea of who you're talking about, that's nuts. I never knew that side of their history. It's too bad there's not an HN herf to hang out and chat about this type of stuff. Thanks for the clue!
bagels 3y ago
Did they go out of business? I know they had reduced production because of this, but you make it sound like it is no longer.
- rozab 3y ago
  In the UK at least I haven't seen them in a supermarket for a long time, whereas many ripoffs with different animal logos are available instead. It was previously very popular here.
  - agurk 3y ago
    I believe it was banned in the EU by the EFSA a few years back due to it containing E222 (sodium hydrogen sulphite)[0]. Googling suggests it's also banned in the UK, but finding reliable sources proved hard. [0] https://www.reddit.com/r/hotsauce/comments/pcw7i0/huy_fong_sriracha_is_indeed_banned_in_the/ https://www.reddit.com/r/hotsauce/comments/pcw7i0/huy_fong_s...
    - rurban 3y ago
      It was unbanned last year, it seems. Original Sriracha bottles are again available in Germany
lproven 3y ago
For those who didn't know (I didn't): https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/19/how-did-the-huy-fong-foods-sriracha-shortage-happen.html https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/19/how-did-the-huy-fong-foods-s...

by 1-6 3y ago

demizer 3y ago

There are a few billion-dollar recipes in the world and the rooster sriracha was one of them. That family fucked up their golden goose... and now all these competing recipes are getting their shine. Greed will get you in the end!

MisterBastahrd 3y ago

There's a cigar company that did the same thing (not naming names because I'm friends with everyone involved). Over 20 years ago, a famous Cuban cigar roller came to the US to start his own cigar business. He worked out of a small factory with other rollers in Miami, and sourced all of his tobacco from a specific farm out of Nicaragua. The deal was that the farm owner would be a part-owner of his tobacco business in exchange for the tobacco since he came from Cuba with nothing. Well, years later the cigar roller is now a cigar magnate, and he wanted his business to be owned by himself and his children, not his business partner. So he started another company on the side and started pushing all of his new brands through that company. The farm owner found out, sued him, and they settled out of court for millions with the caveat that the roller would no longer be able to use any of his farm's tobacco. Cigar roller shrugged his shoulders and kept going. Bought some farmland in Nicaragua and other places, built a fermentation barn, and started growing his own tobacco too, at least what he couldn't source from elsewhere. He also largely stopped making third party cigars aside from his son in law's by way of jacking up the prices on almost all long-run projects by over 100% (to get out of making them). In 20 years he went from being near penniless to being one of the most successful people in the business. Are the cigars as good as they used to be? Hell no. He used to create cigars for third party vendors that would put most of the best Cuban marcas to shame even when you found a quality box of them. But they're good enough for people who don't remember what they used to be, and that's what counts.

lagniappe 3y ago
perdomo?
- MisterBastahrd 3y ago
  Nah. Nick's daddy is a political refugee. Nick never rolled cigars in Cuba.
  - lagniappe 3y ago
    This has been cooking my brain, now I must know :)
    - MisterBastahrd 3y ago
      His SIL is also famous in the cigar world. The SIL's initials are PHJ.
      - lagniappe 3y ago
        Ah ok, I think I have a good idea of who you're talking about, that's nuts. I never knew that side of their history. It's too bad there's not an HN herf to hang out and chat about this type of stuff. Thanks for the clue!

bagels 3y ago

Did they go out of business? I know they had reduced production because of this, but you make it sound like it is no longer.

rozab 3y ago
In the UK at least I haven't seen them in a supermarket for a long time, whereas many ripoffs with different animal logos are available instead. It was previously very popular here.
- agurk 3y ago
  I believe it was banned in the EU by the EFSA a few years back due to it containing E222 (sodium hydrogen sulphite)[0]. Googling suggests it's also banned in the UK, but finding reliable sources proved hard. [0] https://www.reddit.com/r/hotsauce/comments/pcw7i0/huy_fong_sriracha_is_indeed_banned_in_the/ https://www.reddit.com/r/hotsauce/comments/pcw7i0/huy_fong_s...
  - rurban 3y ago
    It was unbanned last year, it seems. Original Sriracha bottles are again available in Germany

lproven 3y ago

For those who didn't know (I didn't): https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/19/how-did-the-huy-fong-foods-sriracha-shortage-happen.html https://www.cnbc.com/2023/08/19/how-did-the-huy-fong-foods-s...