A recipe craze on social media video site TikTok has been blamed for a shortage of cucumbers on Icelandic supermarket shelves.
After social media users in the country began sharing a salad recipe for grated cucumbers with sesame oil, garlic, rice vinegar and chilli oil, demand for the vegetable soared. With limited domestic production (typically around 2,000 tonnes a year), the Iceland’s farmers association – the Horticulturists’ Sales Company (SFG) – told BBC News that growers were unable to keep up with demand.
SFG’s Marketing Director Kristín Linda Sveinsdóttir said the recipe had been really popular, resulting in shops selling out, although she hoped that normal supplies would be restored “in a week or so.”
Icelandic supermarket chain Hagkaup reported that cucumber sales had more than doubled, but also revealed that it was less convinced about a link to the TikTok trends than some other commentators. In fact, Kristín Linda Sveinsdóttir also admitted other factors had contributed to the shortage, such as schools returning from summer holidays, but added, “This is the first time we have experienced something like this. When [cucumber] production was in full blast the shortage would not have been noticeable.”
The TikTok trend is reported to have its origins in Canada where influencer Logan Moffitt, dubbed ‘cucumber guy, has been sharing novel recipes using the variety.
