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While classic mayonnaise has been a reliable ingredient in sandwiches and potato salad for decades, consumer goods giant Unilever is now adding more spice to the time-honored condiment in a bid to boost sales and increase its popularity among younger shoppers.
Unilever’s Hellmann’s brand is making a big deal about introducing flavored mayonnaise to appeal to millennial and Gen Z consumers – a demographic that uses less of the condiment but is more interested in new and novel varieties. It also gives Hellmann’s more versatility by giving customers additional choices when preparing food at home and increasing the likelihood that they will add mayonnaise to meals and preparations they wouldn’t have made before.
The flavored mayonnaise market is estimated at $210 million, according to Circana data provided by Unilever.
“The launch of our portfolio of flavored mayonnaises … certainly allowed us to increase the relevance of our brand, especially with younger cohorts and consumers,” said Chris Symmes, marketing director for dressings and condiments at Unilever in North America, in an interview. Without that launch, “it might have been a missed opportunity to be present in more homes with products relevant to them.”
At Unilever, the flavoured mayonnaise division has seen “significant growth”; sales have “almost doubled” this year, according to Symmes. The new flavours are an enrichment for the classic This is also the case with Hellmann’s Real: up to 70 percent of buyers of flavored mayonnaise also choose a jar of the original.
Chris Symmes, Marketing Manager for Dressings and Seasonings at Unilever in North AmericaAuthorization granted by Unilever
Hellmann’s roots go back to 1905, when German immigrant Richard Hellmann opened a delicatessen in New York City and began using his wife’s mayonnaise recipe on salads. The mayonnaise became so popular that Hellmann began selling it.
Today, the brand generates annual sales of over two billion dollars (two billion euros) worldwide. It is particularly popular in the USA, where Hellmann’s can be found in around half of all households.
Hellmann’s launched its first two flavoured mayonnaise offerings in the UK about a decade ago. But for several years, these were the only ones on the market.
The brand launched its first flavored product, Spicy, in the U.S. in 2021 as part of an accelerated global launch. It currently sells 20 flavors worldwide. In the USA alone, Hellmann’s Five different mayonnaise flavors: Chipotle, Spicy, Chili Lime with Tajin, Italian Herbs and Garlic and Garlic Aioli.
Unilever continuously analyses data and attends trade fairs, including Fancy Food last June, to identify trends that could be candidates for flavoured mayonnaise, Symmes noted. Chipotle, for example, was chosen because it was trendy among millennials. Unilever decided to promote its spicy mayonnaise by pairing it with the chicken sandwich, a dish that was also popular with this demographic.
Symmes said the pace of new product launches was “likely to slow” as Unilever needed time to “support, promote and grow” the flavoured mayonnaise products already on the market.
Despite the recent success of the flavoured mayonnaise, it is unlikely that it will overtake the original Real brand, which generates the lion’s share of the brand’s sales.
“There is definitely room for the development of flavored mayo in Hellmann’s Franchise for the coming years”, Symmes said. “But it is unlikely that it will be the same size as our (Hellmann’s) Real in terms of our overall portfolio, given the size and the good establishment of our Real business alone.”
