Hellmann's and Best Foods - Recipe and Marketing Issues

Recipe and Marketing Issues

When Best Foods acquired the Hellmann's brand, it decided to preserve the respective recipes for both mayonnaises. 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.

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 ingredients rank ordered by volume are the same as Hellmann's. Still, the fine print in the company's marketing and web sites state that "Hellmann's is known as Best Foods west of the Rockies" and "Best Foods is known as Hellmann's east of the Rockies" .

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.