Lawsuit Filed Against Producers Of ‘Texas Pete’ Hot Sauce Over Popular Brand Being From NC

Philip White, of Los Angeles, California, filed a lawsuit, in September, against the producers of Texas Pete hot sauce. He has stated that the North Carolina-based T.W. Garner Food Co. falsely advertised that the brand was made in Texas.

White purchased a bottle of the hot sauce that had a label with a white star, like the Texas flag. It also contained an all-red cartoon cowboy, and White “relied upon the language and images on the front label” prior to buying the item.

The lawsuit notes that the man thought the label’s appearance made it seem to be “distinctly Texan.” On the contrary, the hot sauce was first launched at a barbecue in Winston-Salem in 1929.

The suit demands that the hot sauce brand “change its name and brand and to pay up.” The company has until November 10th to respond.

“There is surprisingly nothing Texas about them,” the complaint noted.

Texas Pete hot sauce is a condiment launched by Sam Garner. His website states that it was a result of him and his son trying to come up with a name for their sauce at their barbecue restaurant.

At first, “Mexican Joe” was going to be the name of the sauce “to connote the piquant flavor reminiscent of the favorite foods of our neighbors to the south.”

The website cited that Garner didn’t like that name but wanted something more American. It added that the name came from the Lone Star State’s name, and a nickname for Garner’s son, Harold, which is “Pete.”

The complaint continued to state that Texas Pete, a Louisiana-style hot sauce, is a result of ingredients from “sources outside of Texas.” It also said that the hot sauce maker “admits that Texas’s reputation was one they were trying to mimic and capitalize on.”