Get All Access for $5/mo

'Nothing Texas About Them': Man Sues Texas Pete Hot Sauce for Alleged False Advertising Despite Texas Pete's branding, the product is actually made in North Carolina.

By Sam Silverman

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Shutterstock/Billy F Blume Jr

Texas Pete hot sauce is in hot water.

A California-based man is suing Texas Pete Hot Sauce for false advertising because, the lawsuit says, despite its namesake, the sauce is actually produced in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

According to a complaint filed against Texas Pete's parent company T.W. Garner Food Co., Philip White, a Los Angeles county resident, purchased the condiment at Ralph's supermarket in September 2021 believing the sauce was Texas-grown. White claims he wouldn't have bought the product had he known it wasn't authentic to the Lone Star State.

"Defendant has cheated its way to a market-leading position in the $3 billion-dollar hot-sauce industry at the expense of law-abiding competitors and consumers nationwide who desire authentic Texas hot sauce and reasonably, but incorrectly, believe that is what they are getting when they purchase Texas Pete," the lawsuit claims, adding that "there is surprisingly nothing Texas about them," including its Louisiana-style hot sauces.

Additionally, the product's packaging is "distinctly Texan" the lawsuit claims, although a label on the back of the bottle states it's manufactured in North Carolina.

The company's website also discloses where the product is manufactured and states that Texas Pete founder, Sam Garner, named the product after his son and Texas' "reputation for spicy cuisine."

However, the lawsuit claims, "nothing would overcome the reasonable impression given by the front label that the Products are indeed made in Texas."

The plaintiffs have requested the court to force Texas Pete to change its name and branding in addition to paying monetary damages.

The brand has yet to address the lawsuit at this time.

Sam Silverman

Content Strategy Editor

Sam Silverman is a content strategy editor at Entrepreneur Media. She specializes in search engine optimization (SEO), and her work can be found in The US Sun, Nicki Swift, In Touch Weekly, Life & Style and Health. She writes for our news team with a focus on investigating scandals. Her coverage and expertise span from business news, entrepreneurship, technology, and true crime, to the latest in entertainment and TV news. Sam is a graduate of Lehigh University and currently resides in NYC. 

Want to be an Entrepreneur Leadership Network contributor? Apply now to join.

Editor's Pick

Growing a Business

How Connecting With the Right Audience Drives Long-Term Business Success

Here's how targeted lead generation can help you unlock higher conversions, stronger brand loyalty and scalable growth.

Leadership

Should I Stay or Should I Go? 8 Key Points to Navigate the Founder's Dilemma

Here are eight key signs that help founders determine whether to persevere or let go.

Starting a Business

They Bought an Ice Cream Truck Off eBay for $5,000. Now Their Company Has 70 Shops and Sells Treats in Over 12,000 Stores.

For the episode of "The Founder CEO," the co-founder and CEO of Van Leeuwen Ice Cream explains how one ice cream truck grew into a successful nationwide brand.

Marketing

Your Most Powerful Marketing Weapon Is Hiding in the Finance Department — Here's Why

Transform your marketing leadership by turning finance from a barrier into a strategic ally. Learn how aligning with your finance team can drive unprecedented growth and innovation.

Business News

'You Own Nothing Here on Social': Meta Outage, Looming TikTok Ban Has Creators Questioning How Much of Their Business They Really Control

With repeated tech outages and a possible TikTok ban on the horizon, creators are looking for new ways to influence. Turns out, one old-school way still reigns supreme.