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18 November 2014Trademarks

Unilever defends Hellmann’s mayonnaise lawsuit

Unilever, the owner of Hellmann’s mayonnaise, has defended its decision to sue a start-up company that produces eggless mayonnaise by claiming it is “protecting consumers and its brand”.

Speaking to WIPR days after filing a lawsuit against US-based Hampton Creek, a spokesman for the multinational said it was a “strong supporter of innovation” but was concerned over the accuracy of labelling.

Unilever, which owns London-based Conopco, the producer of the renowned Hellmann’s brand, sued Hampton Creek arguing that its new Just Mayo product was misleading to consumers.

San Francisco-based Hampton Creek’s mayonnaise alternative, which first went on sale a year ago, uses a Canadian pea plant instead of egg yolk.

In a lawsuit filed at the US District Court for the District of New Jersey, Unilever cited false advertising and unfair competition laws because it believes real Mayonnaise should be made with eggs.

Unilever claimed the Just Mayo product has hampered sales of its renowned Hellmann’s brand.

“We are a strong supporter of innovation both within and outside our company. Our concern here is not about innovation—it is about misleading labelling,” a Unilever spokesman said.

“It is not accurate to label the Hampton Creek product as ‘mayo’ or to reinforce the link with images of ingredients, in this case eggs, which are not even used. We simply wish to protect both consumers from being misled and also our brand.”

But Hampton Creek, which told WIPR it was “on the right side of the law”, has attracted wide levels of support.

Television chef Andrew Zimmern, a fan of Just Mayo,  started an online petition at campaign website Change.org last week asking Unilever to “stop bullying” small companies. At the time of writing, it has more than 38,000 supporters.

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Trademarks
23 December 2014   The maker of Hellmann’s mayonnaise has withdrawn a lawsuit in which it accused a US start-up of falsely labelling its product as mayonnaise.