After attempting to sue a vegan mayonnaise maker for false advertising, Hellmann’s parent company Unilever is now launching its own eggless “mayonnaise”.
In October 2014, the company sued San Francisco-based start-up company Hampton Creek Foods for mislabelling its Just Mayo product as mayonnaise. The suit argued that Just Mayo – made with pea protein in lieu of eggs – could not be marketed as ‘mayonnaise’ because the Food and Drug Administration defines the spread as an emulsion of oil and egg or egg yolk.
A little while later, Unilever dropped the law suit and in 2015, the FDA made a similar argument against Just Mayo. Hampton Creek responded by agreeing to label Just Mayo as ‘egg-free’.
Now Unilever has announced the launch of ‘Carefully Crafted Dressing & Sandwich Spread’, a rather carefully if cumbersomely named egg-less competitor to Hampton Creek’s Just Mayo.
“Our fans have been asking us for organic and egg-less options with the creamy taste of Hellmann’s for years,” Russel Lilly, Hellmann’s marketing director, said in a press release. “We listened and responded by giving them choices that are priced competitively and available nationwide.” The egg-free product will launch alongside an organic mayonnaise line, which will be made with cage-free eggs.
Hellmann’s Carefully Crafted Dressing & Sandwich Spread uses modified food starch made from corn and potatoes to bind the oil—soybean oil, rather than the canola oil used by Hampton Creek—into an emulsion.
Hellmann’s is also adding Hellmann’s Organic Mayonnaise, which uses only USDA certified organic ingredients, including organic cage-free eggs and organic oil. It contains no artificial flavours or preservatives.
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024