Mayonnaise wars:
Unilever files suit against startup Hampton Creek
by Beth Kowitt
@bethkowitt
November 10, 2014, 10:00 AM EST
Owner of Hellmann’s lashes out at a startup that is
taking market share from the giant
Unilever has a beef with San Francisco-based food startup
Hampton Creek—and it’s all about eggs.
Well actually, a lack of eggs.
Unilever subsidiary Conopco has filed a civil
suit in New Jersey federal court against Hampton Creek, alleging false
advertising and unfair competition. It claims that because Hampton Creek’s Just
Mayo product doesn’t contain any eggs, it shouldn’t be called or marketed as
mayo or mayonnaise.
“Despite its name, Just Mayo does not contain just
mayonnaise,” reads the complaint. “In fact it is not mayonnaise at all. Rather,
it is a plant-based vegan alternative to real mayonnaise.”
Hampton Creek’s Just Mayo competes with Unilever’s Best
Foods and Hellmann’s brands. The claim acknowledges that Just Mayo is stealing
market share from Hellmann’s.
The civil action alleges that Just Mayo neither tastes like
nor binds ingredients and sauces together the way mayo should. That, along with
what it calls “unsubstantiated superiority claims” have “caused consumer
deception and serious, irreparable harm to Unilever and to the product category
the industry has taken great care to define in a way consistent with consumer
expectations.”
In addition to damages, Unilever is seeking an injunction
against Hampton Creek, which would keep the company from calling its product
mayonnaise, marketing it as superior to Unilever’s brands, and ultimately
forcing it to withdraw anything with Just Mayo branding from the market.
Hampton Creek CEO Josh Tetrick says that he does not believe
that the company is in violation of what’s called “the standard of identity”
for mayonnaise and plans to fight it. But he also thinks the lawsuit is an
opportunity to make a larger point. “This is a conversation around how this
system of food needs to be rethought,” he says. “You’ve got to make it easier
for innovators to innovate and for people to eat in a way that’s ultimately
better.”
Tetrick thinks that Hampton Creek—which is focused on making
plant-based products to improve the food system—will likely be the target of
other lawsuits as it branches into new products. “It’s just kind of the nature
of change,” he says.
Vegan products branded as mayo that pre-date Hampton Creek
are on the market, but those offerings are more clearly targeting
health-conscious consumers. Tetrick has made a point of going after a larger
demographic with Just Mayo, selling his product not just in the Whole Foods of
the world but also the Wal-Marts. The company has historically downplayed that
Just Mayo is vegan in order to appeal to a broader population. That also makes
the product more of a direct threat to Unilever.
Tetrick shared an email with Fortune that he received
from Unilever’s Global VP of marketing only days after the suit was filed. It
read: “Love what you are doing…Very much in line with our Unilever Project
Sunlight #brightfuture philosophy.”
Tetrick made his debut appearance on Fortune’s 40 Under 40 list earlier this year.
Unilever has not responded to requests for comment. We’ll
update if they do.
Unilever
Hellman's is a Unilever
Group brand.
Note: Unilever PLC is
a member of the Unilever Group.
Ann
M. Fudge is a director at the Unilever
PLC, and a trustee at the Brookings
Institution (think tank).
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Brookings Institution
(think tank), and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace (think
tank).
George Soros
was the chairman for the Foundation to Promote Open Society, and is a member
of the Bretton Woods Committee.
Jessica Tuchman Mathews was an honorary
trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), is a member of the Bretton Woods Committee, a director at
the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think
tank), the president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
(think tank), a director at the American Friends of Bilderberg
(think tank), and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).
Ed Griffin’s interview with
Norman Dodd in 1982
(The investigation into the
Carnegie Endowment for International Peace uncovered the plans for population
control by involving the United
States in war)
Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace (think tank) was a funder for the Nuclear Threat Initiative (think tank).
Margaret A.
Hamburg is the VP for the Nuclear
Threat Initiative (think tank), and the commissioner for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Donald
Kennedy was a commissioner for the U.S.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and a trustee at the Carnegie
Endowment for International Peace (think tank).
Mark B. McClellan
was a commissioner for the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (FDA), and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Ann
M. Fudge is a trustee at the Brookings
Institution (think tank), and a director at the Unilever PLC.
Unilever
PLC is a member of the Unilever
Group.
Hellman's
is a Unilever Group brand.
Unilever
United States Inc. is a member of the Unilever
Group.
Lee
H. Bloom is the vice chairman for the Unilever
United States Inc., and was a trustee at the United States Council for International Business.
Michael H. Jordan
was a trustee at the United States
Council for International Business, a director at the United Negro College Fund, and an honorary trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank).
Ann
M. Fudge was a director at the United
Negro College Fund, is a trustee at the Brookings Institution (think tank), and a director at Unilever PLC.
Unilever
PLC is a member of the Unilever
Group.
Hellman's
is a Unilever Group brand.
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