Texas Pete hot sauce hit with false advertising lawsuit because it is made in North Carolina

A California man is suing North Carolina-based hot sauce manufacturer Texas Pete for false advertising.

As first reported by USA Today, Philip White bought a bottle of Texas Pete in September 2021 but now says he would not have done so had it not led him to believe it was created in Texas.

In fact, Texas Pete is a hot sauce created back in 1929 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The sauce's creator came up with the name because Texas had a reputation for spicy cuisine and his son's nickname was Pete.

Today, White and his lawyers say the company "has cheated its way to a market-leading position" in the hot sauce industry by fooling customers into buying an inauthentic Texas sauce.

Bottles of Texas Pete say on the back that they are manufactured in North Carolina. However, the lawsuit says customers are unlikely to notice that especially when the front of the bottle features Texas imagery such as a lassoing cowboy and a white Lone Star.