Handshake agreements will most likely fall apart in time due to changing needs and personalities. This is why contracts are absolutely needed, especially for the size of business Sriracha was involved in.

Except for the court ruling of 13 million in favor of Underwood Ranch, the article isn’t very clear in the amount by which the 2 companies disagreed so difficult to say if it was purely a clash of the 2 owner’s personalities or some other fundamental change in market that brought this sudden schism.

Paranoid old men accuse each other of trying to rip each other off after decades of successful partnership. Sad.

Back in the 90s when I was in college, my friend brought back Sambal Asli hot sauce packets from Indonesia after holiday breaks. I think he said it meant "real sauce" but I just looked it up and it might mean "original sauce".

The funny thing about it is that you build up a tolerance to how hot it is. So the first time you try it, a few drops feel like your face is burning off. By the end of the semester, we were pouring full packets on each slice of pizza.

I just looked and I can't find the (ketchup sized) packets online. So I don't have anything to recognize the brand from. If anyone knows, please share! They are at least as addictive as Sriracha IMHO, should there ever be another shortage.

one of the funniest foods ever..a vietnamese dude making a fake thai chilli sauce with mexican chillies in usa...

Can’t we all just get along?

Footnote:

This article appears in the February/March 2024 issue of Fortune with the headline “Hot Mess.”