Jalapeño farmer wins $23.3 million in heated dispute with Sriracha maker

Craig Underwood of Underwood Ranches tosses jalapeño peppers into the air in a Ventura County field where they are grown. A jury recently awarded $23.3 million to Underwood Ranches after a bitter lawsuit with Huy Fong Foods Inc., the manufacturer of the wildly popular Sriracha in the signature green-capped bottle. The business partnership flourished until the fall of 2016, when Huy Fong demanded Underwood Ranches return more than $1 million the manufacturer said was overpaid to the farm for growing costs, according to court documents. The next month, Huy Fong Foods filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court, which later was moved to Ventura County, where Underwood’s business is located. The Underwood farm was once the exclusive supplier of jalepeño peppers for Huy Fong Foods’ Sriracha.