Texas Pete
Texas Pete is an American hot-sauce brand developed and manufactured by the TW Garner Food Company in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Last updated August 22, 2026
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Overview
Texas Pete is a United States hot-sauce brand produced by the TW Garner Food Company of Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The brand traces its origins to 1929, when the Garner family operated the Dixie Pig barbecue stand and began developing a hotter sauce in response to customer requests. The family formulated a cayenne-pepper-based sauce intended to add heat to barbecue and other foods while remaining relatively approachable rather than aggressively hot. The brand name emerged during the naming process for the new sauce. A marketing adviser reportedly proposed the name “Mexican Joe” to suggest spicy cuisine, but Sam Garner preferred a name with an American association. The final name combined Texas’s reputation for spicy food with “Pete,” the nickname of Harold Garner, one of the family members involved in the business. This naming decision gave the product a distinctive regional and character-based identity, later reinforced by its label design featuring a red cowboy silhouette. Texas Pete’s original hot sauce is a bright red cayenne sauce sold in multiple bottle sizes, including 6-, 12-, and 24-ounce formats. It is positioned as a versatile table and cooking condiment, commonly used with barbecue, eggs, fried foods, sandwiches, and other everyday dishes. The original formula is comparatively mild by hot-sauce standards, reported at approximately 747 Scoville Heat Units. That moderate heat level has helped distinguish the core product from hotter specialty sauces and supports broad household and food-service use. Over time, TW Garner expanded the brand beyond the original sauce. The portfolio has included Hotter Hot Sauce, described as substantially hotter than the flagship product, as well as a sautéed garlic hot sauce. In 2013, the company introduced Cha! by Texas Pete, a sriracha-style sauce. In 2016, it launched Sabor! by Texas Pete, a Mexican-style hot sauce. The company also formerly produced Texas Pete Chili Sauce for use with hot dogs and hamburgers, discontinuing that product in 2015. Texas Pete remains associated primarily with the United States market and with the broader American condiment category. According to an Instacart ranking cited in the brand’s Wikipedia coverage, Texas Pete was the seventh-best-selling hot-sauce brand in the United States in 2022. The brand’s market identity rests on a combination of long operating history, recognizable packaging, moderate heat, barbecue and Southern-food associations, and a portfolio that extends into hotter and internationally styled sauces.
History
Texas Pete developed from the Garner family’s food business in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In 1929, the family operated the Dixie Pig barbecue stand, where customers requested a sauce with more heat. Sam Garner and his sons—Thad W., Ralph C., and Harold H.—responded by preparing a cayenne-pepper-based sauce. The product was introduced during the same year that Thad W. Garner founded the TW Garner Food Company. Naming the new sauce became an early branding exercise. A marketing adviser suggested “Mexican Joe,” a name intended to evoke spicy Mexican cuisine. Sam Garner rejected that proposal because he wanted the product to have an American identity. The eventual name combined Texas, a state associated with spicy food, with Pete, the nickname of Harold Garner. The resulting Texas Pete name gave the sauce a memorable regional character without directly describing a particular cuisine. The original sauce became recognizable through its bright red appearance, flip-top bottle, and white-and-yellow label. The label uses red lettering and a cowboy silhouette, visual elements that support the brand’s American and Western-themed identity. The core sauce is relatively mild at approximately 747 Scoville Heat Units, making it suitable for consumers seeking flavor and moderate heat rather than an extreme pepper experience. TW Garner later developed additional products under the Texas Pete name. The portfolio included Hotter Hot Sauce, promoted as approximately three times hotter than the original, and a sautéed garlic hot sauce. In 2013, the company introduced Cha! by Texas Pete, a sriracha-style product that broadened the brand into a popular Asian-inspired sauce segment. In 2016, it introduced Sabor! by Texas Pete, a Mexican-style hot sauce. The company also produced Texas Pete Chili Sauce for use with hot dogs and hamburgers before ending production of that product in 2015. The brand continues to be manufactured by TW Garner Food Company in Winston-Salem and is principally associated with the United States. Its range covers table sauces, cooking sauces, hotter variants, garlic-flavored products, and products influenced by international sauce styles. A 2022 ranking cited by the brand’s Wikipedia article, based on Instacart data, placed Texas Pete seventh among U.S. hot-sauce brands by sales ranking. The available reference material does not establish a separate publicly traded parent, a current executive roster, international operating scale, or a specific official website URL.
- 2022
Texas Pete placed seventh in a U.S. hot-sauce ranking
[1]Instacart data cited in reference material ranked Texas Pete as the seventh-best-selling hot-sauce brand in the United States.
- 2016
Sabor! by Texas Pete launched
[1]The company introduced Sabor!, a Mexican-style hot sauce under the Texas Pete brand.
- 2015
Texas Pete Chili Sauce discontinued
[1]TW Garner ended production of its Texas Pete Chili Sauce, a product marketed for hot dogs and hamburgers.
- 2013
Cha! by Texas Pete launched
[1]The brand entered the sriracha-style sauce segment with Cha! by Texas Pete.
- 1929
Texas Pete introduced
[1]The Garner family introduced a cayenne-based hot sauce after customers at the Dixie Pig barbecue stand requested a spicier condiment.
- 1929
TW Garner Food Company founded
[1]Thad W. Garner founded the company that developed and manufactures Texas Pete.
Products and positioning
An accessible American hot-sauce brand built around a recognizable cowboy identity, cayenne-based flavor, moderate heat, and everyday use across barbecue, Southern-style food, and general household cooking.
Cayenne hot sauce · 1929
Original Texas Pete Hot Sauce
The brand’s core product is a bright red cayenne-pepper-based hot sauce sold in 6-, 12-, and 24-ounce bottles. Its flip-top packaging and white-and-yellow label with a red cowboy silhouette are central to the product’s recognition. Reported at approximately 747 Scoville Heat Units, it is positioned as a relatively mild, versatile sauce for table use and everyday cooking.
Hotter hot sauce
Texas Pete Hotter Hot Sauce
Hotter Hot Sauce extends the core Texas Pete proposition for consumers seeking more heat. Reference material describes it as approximately three times hotter than the original sauce. It retains the parent brand’s focus on a familiar bottled condiment while serving a more heat-oriented use case.
Flavored hot sauce
Sautéed Garlic Hot Sauce
This Texas Pete variant adds a sautéed-garlic flavor direction to the brand’s hot-sauce range. It broadens the portfolio beyond heat alone by emphasizing a savory garlic profile suitable for cooking and table applications.
Sriracha-style sauce · 2013
Cha! by Texas Pete
Introduced in 2013, Cha! by Texas Pete is the brand’s sriracha-style offering. The product expanded Texas Pete into a sauce style associated with chili-garlic flavor and broad use in meals, snacks, and prepared foods.
Mexican-style hot sauce · 2016
Sabor! by Texas Pete
Released in 2016, Sabor! by Texas Pete is a Mexican-style hot sauce. Its introduction gave the brand a product explicitly oriented toward a Mexican-inspired flavor profile while maintaining the established Texas Pete hot-sauce identity.
Chili sauce
Texas Pete Chili Sauce
Texas Pete Chili Sauce was a former product intended for use with hot dogs and hamburgers. TW Garner discontinued its production in 2015.
Brand decisions
2016
Launch of Sabor! by Texas PeteProduct launchBackground
The brand continued extending its range into sauces associated with international flavor profiles.
Action taken
TW Garner launched Sabor!, a Mexican-style hot sauce.
Aftermath
Sabor! became part of the brand’s expanded sauce portfolio; the sources do not report subsequent financial outcomes.
2015
Discontinuation of Texas Pete Chili SauceOtherBackground
The company maintained a broader range that included a chili sauce intended for hot dogs and hamburgers.
Action taken
TW Garner discontinued production of Texas Pete Chili Sauce.
Aftermath
The product was removed from the brand portfolio. No stated reason or financial effect is provided in the reference material.
2013
Expansion into sriracha-style sauceProduct launchBackground
The established hot-sauce brand broadened its range beyond the original cayenne sauce.
Action taken
TW Garner introduced Cha! by Texas Pete as a sriracha-style product.
Aftermath
The launch added a distinct sauce style to the Texas Pete portfolio; the available sources do not provide financial or market-share results.
Recent events
- 2022
Texas Pete ranked among leading U.S. hot-sauce brands[1]
Other
Instacart data cited in the brand’s Wikipedia coverage placed Texas Pete as the seventh-best-selling hot-sauce brand in the United States.
- 2016
Sabor! by Texas Pete introduced[1]
Product launch
The brand added Sabor!, a Mexican-style hot sauce, to its product range.
- 2013
Cha! by Texas Pete introduced[1]
Product launch
TW Garner Food Company expanded the Texas Pete portfolio with Cha!, a sriracha-style sauce.
Sources2 sources
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