Hellmann's and Best Foods logos used prior to 2004.

Hellmann's and Best Foods are brand names that are used for the same line of mayonnaise and other food products. The Hellmann's brand is sold in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains, and also in Latin America, Europe, Middle East and Canada. The Best Foods brand is sold in the United States west of the Rockies, Australia and New Zealand.

Hellmann's and Best Foods are basically marketed the same way. They both have similar logos and web sites, and they have the same English slogan: "Bring out the best." The Spanish slogan is "Haz una cara...Hellmann's!" (roughly translated to "Make a Hellman's face!"). In Brazil it is "Hellmann's, a verdadeira maionese" (Hellmann's, the true mayonnaise).

Both brands were previously sold by the U.S.-based Best Foods Corporation, which also sold several other food products in addition to Hellmann's and Best Foods mayonnaise, before it was acquired by Unilever in 2000.

[edit] History

In 1905, Richard Hellmann from Vetschau, Germany, opened a delicatessen in New York City, where he used his wife's recipe to sell the first ready-made mayonnaise. It became so popular that he began selling it in bulk to other stores. In 1912 he built a factory for producing Mrs. Hellmann's mayonnaise in jars. It was mass marketed and called Hellmann's Blue Ribbon Mayonnaise. It was so successful, Hellmann closed his delicatessen by 1917 in order to devote full time to his mayonnaise business.

While Hellmann's Mayonnaise thrived on the East Coast, the California company Best Foods introduced their own mayonnaise. Best Foods Mayonnaise became popular on the West Coast.

In 1932, Best Foods bought out the Hellmann's brand. By then both mayonnaises had such commanding market shares in their respective halves of the country that the company decided that both brands and recipes be preserved. To this day:

• Best Foods Mayonnaise is only sold west of the Rocky Mountains, specifically, in or west of Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico.
• Hellmann's is sold east of the Rockies, specifically, in or east of North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas.^[1]

In 1955, Best Foods acquired Rosefield Packing Co., makers of Skippy peanut butter. Then Best Foods was bought by Corn Products Refining Company in 1958 to form Corn Products Company, which in 1969 became CPC International Inc. In 1995, Best Foods split from CPC International, becoming its own company once more. The company was acquired by Unilever in 2000. In the United Kingdom, Hellmann's mayonnaise arrived in 1961. Unilever says that it had over 50% market share by the late 1980s. [1]

[edit] Recipe and marketing issues

When Best Foods acquired the Hellmann's brand, it was decided then that the respective recipes for both mayonnaises be preserved. Today, the two products are made in the same plant. However, at least as recently as June 2003, the recipes were almost, but not entirely, identical. From the company's FAQs at the time:

The products are basically the same. Both trademarks evolved simultaneously — Hellmann's in the East and Best Foods in the West. Taste preferences vary; some people find that Best Foods mayonnaise is slightly more tangy.[2]

Both labels contain the same ingredients in the same 'relative quantity' order: soybean oil, water, whole eggs & egg yolks, vinegar, salt, sugar, lemon juice, calcium disodium EDTA, and natural flavors. Best Foods' may contain more lemon juice, though the relative quantities are the same as Hellmann's.[3]

Maintaining the separate identities of both brands poses some unique challenges. Marketing campaigns for both products are identical; however, Hellmann's and Best Foods must make separate television commercials for each product and cannot utilize nationwide media to market their product.^[2]

[edit] List of products

The following is a list of products that are sold under the Hellmann's and Best Foods brands in the United States and Canada. In other countries, especially Europe, Hellmann's is a major player in the dressings market too, with a wide range of flavors and formats:

• Real Mayonnaise — the original mayonnaise product.
• Light Mayonnaise — mayonnaise with half of the calories and fat as the Real version.
• Extra Light Mayonnaise (UK)
• Canola Real Mayonnaise — mayonnaise made with canola oil.
• Reduced Fat Mayonnaise Dressing — mayonnaise with only 2 grams of fat per serving and no cholesterol.
• Mayonnaise with Lime Juice
• Mayonnaise Dressing with Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• Dijonnaise — mayonnaise blended with Dijon mustard.
• Honey Mustard — mustard blended with honey.
• Tartar sauce
• Sandwich Spread — a blend of mayonnaise and relish.

In Mexico:

• Best Foods Real Mayonnaise (the only product sold under the "Best Foods" brand)
• Hellman's Mayonesa Real — the original mayonnaise product
• Hellman's Delicia — mayonnaise made of milk
• Hellman's Mayonesa Espesa — thick mayonnaise, for salads
• Hellman's Mayonesa sin Colesterol — Reduced fat mayonnaise without cholesterol

In Brazil:

• Maionese Hellmann's — the original mayonnaise product.
• Maionese Hellmann's Mais Limão — mayonnaise with lime juice.
• Maionese Hellmann's 0% Colesterol — mayonnaise without cholesterol.
• Hellmann's Alho — mayonnaise with garlic.
• Hellmann's Atum — mayonnaise with tuna.
• Hellmann's Azeite — mayonnaise with olive oil.
• Hellmann's Azeitona — mayonnaise with olives.
• Hellmann's Hot — mayonnaise with red pepper
• Hellmann's Fresh — mayonnaise with herbs, garlic and lemon juice
• Hellmann's Tártaro — mayonnaise with carrots, cucumbers and onions
• Hellmann's Deleite — milk-based mayonnaise

In Peru:

• Hellmann's Peruvian Flavor — mayonnaise with Peruvian lime juice
• Hellmann's Ketchup
• Hellmann's Mustard

In Argentina:

• Hellmann's Mayonesa — the original mayonnaise product.
• Hellmann's Salsa Golf — mayonnaise with tomato paste.
• Hellmann's Hot Ketchup
• Savora — a mustard brand introduced to Argentina in 1938 by J. & J. Colman

[edit] Notes

1. ^ David Feldman in his 1986 book Imponderables (New York: William Morrow and Co.) implies that both products can be found in the El Paso area, which is close to the Best Foods/Hellmann's dividing line. (p. 211) It is not known whether this is still the case today.
2. ^ Feldman, p. 212-213.

[edit] External links

• Unilever Website
• Best Foods Website
• Hellmann's Website
• http://www.hellmanns.ca