A sizzling sauce lover is suing the maker of Texas Pete for false promoting, alleging the spicy condiment is manufactured exterior the Lone Star State with non-Texas components.
Phillip White of Los Angeles purchased a bottle of Texas Pete sizzling sauce final September however claims he would by no means have bought it had he recognized it wasn't really from Texas, based on the lawsuit, filed final month in federal court docket in California.
For one thing to be labeled as Texas sizzling sauce, the components ought to no less than come from that state, argues the swimsuit, which additionally accuses TW Garner Meals of producing the sauce in a Winston-Salem, North Carolina, manufacturing unit.
TW Garner Meals instructed CBS MoneyWatch on Monday that it is investigating White's claims. The North Carolina firm is searching for the "best strategy to reply," a spokesperson stated in a press release.
The lawsuit, which seeks class-action standing, asks a California choose to drive TW Garner Meals to pay damages and to take away the phrase "Texas" from its labeling. White paid $3 for the bottle of sizzling sauce he bought at a Ralph's retailer final 12 months, based on the lawsuit.
Key variations in sizzling sauces
White's lawsuit claims there are key variations amongst sizzling sauces offered within the U.S. Most customers are aware of Tabasco and Frank's Purple Scorching, that are Louisiana-style sizzling sauces constituted of water, chili peppers, vinegar and salt. There are additionally Mexican-style sizzling sauces like Cholula and Valentina, that are made in that nation from salt, water and vinegar with peppers grown in Mexico.
"Texas sizzling sauces, alternatively, have to be both made in Texas [or] from components sourced from Texas," the lawsuit states, including that Really Texas from Houston and Tears of Pleasure from Austin are examples of Texas sizzling sauce.
TW Garner Meals named its sizzling sauce Texas Pete practically 9 a long time in the past as a part of a advertising technique to depict how spicy the product was, based on the corporate's web site. Again then, the corporate was run by Sam Garner, who had a son named Harold, nicknamed "Pete." Texas had a status for spicy meals so Garner mixed the state title and his son's nickname.
As we speak, the Garner manufacturing unit in Winston-Salem sits on the location of the previous Garner house, based on the web site, which additionally states: "And the legendary Texas Pete, pleased with his cowboy heritage but additionally a proud North Carolinian, continues to thrive!"
Scorching sauce turned a $2.1 billion trade final 12 months, in accordance to Fortune Enterprise Insights. The market is predicted to achieve $2.8 billion this 12 months and $4.7 billion in 2029, Fortune Enterprise stated.