Thai Sriracha plays it cool in the US and spices it up in China after realising it can take the heat

Condiment producer Thaitheparos has been trying to get into the US for years, but better-known Huy Fong Foods has a tight grip on the market

The Thai producer now has its eye on Asian taste buds

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Thailand’s Sriraja Panich hot sauce on the left, and Huy Fong Food’s from the US. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 2:00pm, 28 Apr 2019Updated: 3:02pm, 30 Apr 2019

Any Asian worth his salt would know Sriracha is a must-have sauce at the dinner table. It makes everything spicier, and for those living overseas, it is the familiar flavour of home.

Sriracha, the name of a former fishing village in Thailand’s eastern coastal town of Chonburi, has been the generic name for the hot sauce made of chillies, vinegar, salt and sugar for almost a century, but no one really knows who invented it. But the Sriracha market is dominated by two brands.

In the United States, the better-known brand is the California-based Huy Fong Foods – but for years, Thai condiment producer Thaitheparos has been trying to push its Sriracha condiment called Sriraja Panich, without making much headway. Huy Foods claims about 9.9 per cent of the market, according to Bloomberg.

A few years ago, Bancha Winyarat, vice-president of the Thai company, noticed fake versions of his sauce Sriraja Panich on Chinese shelves. So now, instead of focusing on the United States’ hot sauce market, he has his sights firmly set on China and the rest of Asia.

Tourists look at food for sale at a street food stall on Khao San road, in Bangkok. Photo: EPA

“The US market has already got used to the flavour of Huy Fong,” Bancha said.