Icelandic supermarkets have been left in a pickle, after a viral TikTok development noticed an unprecedented surge in demand for cucumbers – leaving suppliers racing to maintain up.
It comes after social media influencers within the small Nordic nation started sharing a salad recipe of grated cucumbers, sesame oil, garlic, rice vinegar and chilli oil.
The recipe has been such a success that farmers within the nation have been unable to maintain up with spiralling demand, Iceland’s farmers affiliation – the Horticulturists’ Gross sales Firm (SFG) – advised the BBC.
Whereas one grocery store chain – Hagkaup – questioned the hyperlink between demand and the development, it advised the BBC that purchases of cucumber had greater than doubled.
SFG’s advertising and marketing director mentioned that as issues stand farmers in Iceland should not managing to maintain up with surging client demand, however mentioned she hopes provide can be again to regular “in per week or so”.
Kristín Linda Sveinsdóttir advised BBC Information the recipe had confirmed to be “actually well-liked” and different components within the recipe have been promoting out as effectively.
The viral development has its roots in Canada – the place TikToker Logan Moffitt, dubbed “cucumber man”, has been sharing novel recipes utilizing the variability.
“Generally, you simply have to eat a complete cucumber,” is the influencer’s go-to phrase at first of his many recipe movies.
The content material creator has greater than 5.5 million followers and has been sharing cucumber recipes nearly on a regular basis since July.
The one which seems to have gripped customers in Iceland makes use of sesame oil and rice vinegar, however generally Logan mixes in cream cheese, avocado, and even smoked salmon.
Regardless of the influencer’s enduring on-line reputation, specialists in Iceland have been eager to play-down his affiliation with the continued shortages.
Hagkaup advised the BBC it’s common to expertise shortages in Icelandic cucumber right now of yr.
Whereas the corporate’s meals product supervisor, Vignir Þór Birgisson, mentioned gross sales of components like sesame oil and a few spices have “doubled” in his shops, he mentioned the present scarcity isn’t solely because of the TikTok development.
Ms Sveinsdóttir from the SFG additionally expressed some scepticism, suggesting different elements have been at play. Some cucumber farmers exchange their cucumber vegetation right now of yr, which aren’t but producing giant quantities, she mentioned.
Along with this, faculties are getting back from the summer time holidays, which places further strain on provides.
“The whole lot is going on on the identical time,” Ms Sveinsdóttir noticed, however mentioned the social media development remained one of many most important contributing elements.
“That is the primary time we now have skilled one thing like this,” Ms Sveinsdóttir mentioned, including that had the TikTok development grow to be well-liked earlier in the summertime, “when the [cucumber] manufacturing was in full blast” and the scarcity wouldn’t have been noticeable.
Farmers in Iceland – which has a inhabitants of 393,600 – produce about six million cucumbers, Ms Sveinsdóttir advised the BBC.
They satisfaction themselves on the quantity of contemporary items the nation can produce, regardless of the customarily excessive climate situations.