Pink Sauce: The new condiment craze sweeping TikTok and Twitter

Created by Chef Pii, Pink Sauce is a viral hit on TikTok. Image: chef.pii / TikTok

Pink Sauce is the viral food of the moment on social networks, becoming an obsession among internet users on TikTok and Twitter. Online, everyone is talking about this pink-colored condiment with mystery ingredients. So why all the hype?

TikTokers are thinking pink. On the Chinese social network, users are going crazy for Pink Sauce. This concoction, which is used as a condiment, lands in the hottest shade of the moment, channeling the "Barbie" trend on social networks. And it has piqued the curiosity of users of the platform, turning videos posted by the sauce's creator, user Chef Pii, into viral hits. A first video from June 2022 shows Chef Pii eating chicken with her famous Pink Sauce. A series of videos then followed, promoting the sauce by having people, young and old, try it out. And it grew from there, with social media users fueling the hype around the product -- a product that nevertheless comes with a significant price tag, at $20 per 444 gram bottle.

All this excitement around Pink Sauce is due to the mysterious taste of the condiment, whose ingredients were not immediately revealed. For many customers, the taste of the sauce supposedly has a sweet and sour side. Faced with incessant requests, the creator eventually revealed the composition in a video, again on TikTok. The list of ingredients includes garlic, honey, a little pepper, sunflower oil and finally dragon fruit, which gives the sauce its signature hue.

However, criticism started to come in as quickly as the orders. Bottles arrived damaged, there were labelling errors, and even the consistency of the sauce was questioned. Some customers received a very runny, very pink product, while others got a lumpier looking mixture with a faded pink hue. Others, meanwhile, have pointed to the fact that there is no mention of refrigerating the product despite the presence of milk in its composition. In addition, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) has not given its green light for the marketing of this product. It's a step that the creator is working on, and she has addressed the criticisms about the labeling, but not those about the quality of her product. Still, the businesswoman thanked her customers for spending $20 to help a fledgling company get started.