Iconic hot sauce brand Texas Pete® has named McKinney as its creative and media agency of record in a bid to expand beyond its stronghold in the Southeast.

Texas Pete® parent company, family-owned Garner Foods®, chose McKinney to handle the brand’s creative, media, and social duties. The move toward a new agency for Texas Pete® comes as third-generation CEO Ann Garner Riddle transitions the company to the next leader and expands into new markets with its iconic Original Hot Sauce, as well as a portfolio of products that includes CHA! by Texas Pete®, their version of sriracha.

Texas Pete® hot sauce has been a mainstay in the Southeast since 1929. Inspired by one of the founding Four Garners, Harold, known affectionately as “Pete,” the iconic Texas Pete® cowboy emerged in the 1930s, embodying the rugged independence and self-reliance of the era’s cowboy movies. Alongside their renowned hot sauce, the Garners’ journey first began with a secret recipe for a delicious barbecue sauce, laying the foundation for their legacy of flavor and innovation.

Garner Foods® was drawn to McKinney’s expertise and successful collaborations in the food, CPG, and retail space with brands like Little Caesars, Popeyes, and Blue Diamond. “McKinney knows food, and it knows how to make attention-getting work to break through in our highly competitive category,” says Director of Marketing for Garner Foods®, Katie Chaffin. “They were the right partner to grow our presence on the national stage.”

Fans of the brand can expect new work that brings fresh excitement and innovation to Texas Pete®. This new business win comes on the heels of McKinney’s annual Food Trends Report, which highlights the latest developments in the food industry, providing valuable insights that will inform and enhance the new Texas Pete® campaigns.

“Texas Pete® holds a local significance – Garner Foods® in Winston-Salem is just a short drive from our Durham office,” says McKinney President, Gretchen Walsh. “Most of our team in North Carolina grew up on Texas Pete® and we’re going to make sure the rest of the country knows how good it is.”

To kick things off, McKinney is launching the first social campaign, “Ain’t No SriraCHA Shortage” for Texas Pete’s CHA! ahead of a potential sriracha shortage. While one well-known sriracha brand may be running dry, CHA! by Texas Pete® Sriracha Sauce is still being made every dang day. The campaign will feature social, out-of-home (OOH), and store signage, all with detailed long text featuring Texas Pete®’s perspective on the supposed sriracha shortage. Hidden within this text are promo codes offering discounts on bottles of CHA! – If the reader can make it all the way through.

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