Iceland is grappling with a cucumber shortage as a result of a viral TikTok trend that unusually increased the cucumber demand in the country.
Inspired by the Canadian influencer Logan Moffitt, famously known as the “cucumber guy,” some influencers in Iceland started their own trend of making a specific salad from cucumber.
A 30-year-old Icelander, Daniel Sigthorsson, who lives in the capital city of Reykjavik and was out buying cucumbers after being influenced by the trend, was surprised to see the empty shelves as he stated that this is one of the things that are always available in the country.
Reportedly, other ingredients present in the cucumber salad recipe, including rice vinegar, sesame and chili oils, and garlic, are also selling like hot cakes, but they still have not disappeared from the markets.
Canadian influencer Moffitt, who has more than 5.6 million TikTok followers, is known for his famous comments, which he tells his viewers at the start of most of his videos, that all they need is to eat a whole cucumber before he teaches them to make different types of cucumber salads. Despite a visible association between the viral trend in Iceland and Moffit’s videos, some entities in the Nordic country are claiming that he has nothing to do with the ongoing shortage.
A hypermarket chain in Iceland, Hagkaup, said it is common for the country to see the cucumber shelves empty this time around, although the store also admitted that the sales of other ingredients used in the viral recipe have also been “doubled” in recent times.
Meanwhile, the Horticulturists’ Sales Company (SFG), which is the largest farmers association in the country, stated that they are unable to keep pace with the increasing cucumber demand as they wished to bring things back to normalcy within a “week or so.”
However, SFG official Sveinsdóttir was also skeptical that the TikTok trend was the sole reason behind the cucumber shortage, as she indicated that this is the time of the year when some farmers replace their plants, which could be a reason behind a temporary shortage.
Although Sveinsdóttir admitted that the tiktok trend was the primary reason for the shortage and that the current situation is unprecedented, she added that schools are also opening back after the summer vacations, which is putting extra pressure on the market.
The social media trend started becoming viral at the beginning of summer when cucumber production was at its peak, Sveinsdóttir continued.
