Mayonnaise Dethrones Ketchup as Most Popular Condiment

Think ketchup reigns supreme when it comes to America’s favorite condiment? Well, time to shatter your reality. Pulling data from Euromonitor, Quartz graphed the growth of ketchup, mayonnaise, soy sauce , barbecue sauce, mustard and steak sauce markets from 2000 to 2013.

The verdict: The US consumes $2 billion worth of mayo each year, while the ketchup market is worth around $800 million — less than half of mayo’s. Soy sauce follows close behind ketchup at $725 million last year, with barbecue sauce coming in at $660 million. Mustard’s market, on the other hand, has been shrinking since 2009 and falls slightly under $450 million.

It’s worth it to note that while hot sauce is valued at $550 million, it’s grown by 150 percent since 2000 — more than ketchup, mayonnaise, barbecue sauce and mustard combined. As Quartz points out, “Hot sauce is having more than just a moment; it’s having a decade.”

A lot of the love is due to America’s rising immigrant population. The influx of Asians and Latinos has made spicy dishes more commonplace and has helped fuel the US’ current obsession with sauces like Sriracha and Tabasco (please refer to the great Tabasco vs Sriracha debate).

Naturally, the rising popularity of hot wings have also played a big part: Americans consume a whopping 25 billion chicken wings per year. “Sriracha, Tabasco, and Frank’s Red Hot, in particular, have really benefited from that,” Matt Hudak, Euromonitor’s US food industry expert, explained.

Charts via Quartz