If you call yourself a “Texas” hot sauce, you better make dang sure you are created in the Lone Star State, or this man will be coming for ya.
California resident Philip White purchased a bottle of Texas Pete hot sauce, with the understanding that it was brewed and bottled in Texas.
When he discovered the truth, that the product was actually made in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, he grew furious.
He accused Texas Pete of “false advertising,” claiming that he would not have bought the bought the Louisiana-style hot sauce, or wouldn’t have paid as much for it, if he knew its true origin.
Per USA Today, the complaint alleges the makers knowingly "capitalized on consumers’ desire to partake in the culture and authentic cuisine of one of the most prideful states in America."
Texas Pete's parent company T.W. Garner Food Co. explained that after consulting a marketing adviser, the company’s founder, Sam Garner, landed on Texas Pete because of the state’s “reputation for spicy cuisine” and as a nod to his son’s nickname.
"The current factory, built in 1942 and added onto too many times to count, sits on the original Garner family home site in northwest Winston-Salem. And the legendary Texas Pete, proud of his cowboy heritage but also a proud North Carolinian, continues to thrive," Texas Pete’s website states.