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Hellmann's maker Unilever sues Just Mayo, says it's just not mayonnaise

It may look like a simple jar of sandwich spread sitting on grocery store shelves, but mayonnaise sales are in the billions of dollars. And the owners of the dominant brand have been whipped into a fury over an upstart company selling a vegan mayo without eggs....
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The Current22:52Eggless mayo company draws multi-million dollar lawsuit from competitors - Nov 18, 2014
It may look like a simple jar of sandwich spread sitting on grocery store shelves, but mayonnaise sales are in the billions of dollars. And the owners of the dominant brand have been whipped into a fury over an upstart company selling a vegan mayo without eggs.
Unilever supports innovation both within and outside our company. The Hellmann's brand is made from real eggs, oil, and vinegar and we support this standard of identity.Hellman's parent company Unilever, in a statement

Unilver, the multi-national company that manufactures America's most popular brand of mayonnaise, has commenced legal action against the Hampton Creek company.

The San Francisco-based firm sells Just Mayo. By all accounts it looks like mayonnaise and tastes like mayonnaise...with no eggs in the recipe. It's a plant-based product that uses Canadian-grown yellow peas instead.

We didn't start Hampton Creek to think or do small things. We're on the right side of the law and where our world is going.Just Mayo maker Hampton Creek, in a statement

According to Unilever, Just Mayo is not mayonnaise. But to many observers, the David-and-Goliath style battle of the mayos playing out now says more about shifting consumer preferences toward smaller producers, while established food companies feel the pressure.

Clearly, mayonnaise is undergoing an identity crisis-one that a U.S. court may have to decide sometime soon.

Michele Simon is watching the mayo war closely. She's a public health lawyer in Oakland, California. She also blogs at Eat Drink Politics.



We want to hear your take on the debate... do you think it's mayo without eggs?

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This segment was produced by The Current's Peter Mitton and Ines Colabrese.

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