Gen Z’s Sriracha fandom skyrockets amidst a serious hot chili sauce shortage

Huy Fong’s Sriracha Hot Chili Sauce ranked 6th in our latest AdAge-Harris Poll Gen Z brand tracker with a 5.5% brand equity increase from Q2 (46.7) to Q3 (52.2). This quarterly index uses data from QuestBrand by The Harris Poll to rank the top 20 brands by brand equity growth among Gen Z adults (ages 18-27). How did Sriracha attract Gen Z’s attention? By suffering a significant product shortage.

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In May, popular Sriracha manufacturer Huy Fong Foods announced that they were halting production of all their products until after Labor Day. The company’s chili supply was too green to manufacture their famously bright red Sriracha sauce. A well-known (and beloved) condiment, prominent news outlets covered the shortage (including the New York Times, Forbes, and USA Today), and disgruntled customers posted about the shortages on social media. TikTok posts about the shortage drew millions of collective views.

Interestingly, the great Sriracha shortages of 2024 did not negatively impact consumers’ perception of the brand. Rather, the lack of Sriracha led to more conversations about, and hype around, the condiment.

Digging into Gen Z’s QuestBrand numbers, Sriracha experienced significant growth in their positive consideration score from Q2 to Q3 2024. Consideration is a component of brand equity that quantifies consumers’ purchasing intent. As Sriracha became increasingly difficult to find, Gen Z’s interest in acquiring the sauce skyrocketed.

This situation shows how even a negative event in a brand’s life (like a product shortage) can still generate positive hype for the brand and capture consumers’ attention.

Huy Fong’s Sriracha Positive Purchase Consideration Q2-Q3 – 12 Week Trended Average