Big Mayo vs. Little Mayo: Which Brand Has Egg on Its Face?
There have been no shortage of headlines recounting the legal kerfuffle unfolding over the definition of mayonnaise.
Global food giant, Unilever, which owns the ubiquitous Hellmann’s brand, is suing Hampton Creek, the maker of of Just Mayo, an egg-free spread made from peas, sorghum and other plants.
Hampton Creek’s mission is to make foods that are healthy and grown sustainably, using less water and land, than traditional animal-based products. (We profiled the start-up in 2013.)
The headlines have been entertaining. FORTUNE dubbed the fight the “Mayonnaise Wars” and The Wall Street Journal quipped “Hellmann’s Seeks Justice vs. Just Mayo.”
At the crux of the kerfuffle is Unilever’s assertion that Hampton Creek’s labels are misleading. The company points to a decades-old legal definition set by the Food and Drug Administration that specifies that mayonnaise must contain eggs.
More: Big Mayo vs. Little Mayo: Which Brand Has Egg on Its Face? : The Salt : NPR