Owner of Hellmann’s Sues Maker of “Just Mayo” for False Advertising

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Summary: The parent company of Hellmann’s, Unilever, has sued the maker of “Just Mayo,” Hampton Creek, for false advertising.

Unilever, which is the maker of Hellmann’s, has filed a lawsuit against Hampton Creek for its use of the word “Mayo” in the name for its sandwich spread, according to The Associated Press.

  

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Hampton Creek is based in California and is has labeled one of its products “Just Mayo,” which is free of eggs.

The complaint says that the word mayo implies the product is actually mayonnaise, which has eggs in it.

The lawsuit, which was filed in federal court, claims false advertising by Hampton Creek.

To read about more false advertising lawsuits, click here.

The lawsuit states that “Just May” is “stealing market share from Hellmann’s. Consumers and cooks have an expectation that mayonnaise should both taste and perform like mayonnaise. Just Mayo does neither.”

Euromonitor’s data says that the mayonnaise market is worth almost $2 billion annually and Unilever holds the biggest share of the market in the United States.

The company told The Wall Street Journal that it does not mislead consumers because the company advertises that it is a benefit for eggs to be missing from the product.

Unilever hired a marketing professor to conduct a consumer study online about the product. The study found that half of the study participants thought Just May was mayonnaise. The professor said more than 800 people took part in the survey.

Hampton Creek is a startup backed by Bill Gates and Just Mayo is its first product. The company is located in San Francisco.

To read more about Microsoft founder Bill Gates, click here.

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Image credit: The Associated Press