Big Mayo Files Lawsuit Against Food-Tech Startup Hampton Creek

http://www.eatdrinkpolitics.com/2014/11/09/big-mayo-files-frivolous-lawsuit-against-eggless-competitor/

by Reallynow • 12 years ago

27 36 12 years ago

debacle• 12 years ago

Upvoted for "big mayo" reference, but this is a pretty obvious case of severe editorial slant.

Now it’s true that FDA’s "standard of identity" (i.e., definition) for mayonnaise includes eggs; well specifically, "egg yolk-containing ingredients"

Okay. Case closed. It's not Mayo.

entee3• 12 years ago

I think the point is not whether it fits the current standard but whether those standards make sense in an age of innovation.

I think consumers are smart enough to figure out whether or not the product they bought is mayonnaise. If it tastes like mayo, works like mayonnaise, smells like mayonnaise, is it not mayonnaise? Who cares if it has eggs, and why are the Feds getting involved anyway?

smackfu3• 12 years ago

Eh, I'd argue the age of innovation for foods started 25 years ago, when we figured out how to make chocolate tasting things without much chocolate, and maple-flavored corn syrup. You can't call that chocolate or maple syrup, so I don't see how mayo is any different.

dragonwriter• 12 years ago

I think the point is not whether it fits the current standard but whether those standards make sense in an age of innovation.

How does an "age of innovation" benefit from inaccurate product labeling. Its not like mayonnaise-substitutes that vary from the defining ingredients are new -- usually with branding that is evocative of mayonnaise without claiming to be mayonnaise, clearly indicating that it is: (1) something different than mayonnaise, (2) intended to fill the role of mayonnaise.

Who cares if it has eggs, and why are the Feds getting involved anyway?

The Feds are concerned about accurate and meaningful food labeling because people being able to rely on food labels and no what they mean is important for both health and safety reasons, and for the ability of consumers to make informed decisions in the marketplace.

Misleading labeling benefits only fraudsters.

waterlesscloud2• 12 years ago

So no doubt the people behind Just Mayo are cool with unlabeled GMO products, right?

After all, if it tastes the same, works the same, smells the same...

Age of innovation!

Disclaimer- I'm fine with most GMO, though I see no reason not to label it as such.

mcphage• 12 years ago

Okay. Case closed. It's not Mayo.

Well, that means it's not mayonnaise. But if they call themselves "mayo" (which doesn't have a standard of identity), and never "mayonnaise", I'm not so sure it's as clear that it's not Mayo.

abandonliberty2• 12 years ago

I believe the correct term for these products is "egg-free mayonnaise-like spread". Mayo*, if you will.

Anything can be a spread. Think that's jam? No! Fruit spread.

whafro• 12 years ago

Mayonnaise is oil, egg yolks, and an acid (typically vinegar or lemon juice). If you don't have these things, it's not mayonnaise.

It seems like it'd be pretty easy for them to call it "Vegan Mayo," where folks are assuming there's a major substitute for a core ingredient. "Just Mayo," on the other hand, seems to claim the opposite.

It's still pretty whiny for Hellmann's/Best Foods/Unilever/Whomever to file the lawsuit, but that doesn't mean they're wrong.

entee3• 12 years ago

Neither are a lot of Hellmann’s products. Lots of their products are called "mayonnaise dressing" instead of "mayonnaise" probably because they don’t fit the criteria either. Do you care though? You probably never noticed, and just had a really nice sandwich.

The standard is actually super specific:

http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRS...

for example you have to have at least 65% by weight oil and at least 2.5% acid.

If I buy something that has "mayonnaise" on it, then I’m buying "mayonnaise". If my sandwich sucks, then I won’t buy it again. No need for the government to tell me what is and isn’t mayonnaise.

ginko• 12 years ago

If I buy something that has mayonnaise on it then I'm expecting _mayonnaise_.

AceJohnny2• 12 years ago

No need for the government to tell me what is and isn’t mayonnaise.

If I need "mayonnaise" for a recipe that depends on the specific chemical properties of the stuff (as a metaphor, see chocolate), I want to be sure that the stuff I'm buying at the store is actually oil+acid+egg that won't break down unexpectedly in my cooking. So by all means, I want regulation that ensures that "mayonnaise" is reasonably close to the actual stuff, and not some recreation that just happens to mimic the original.

Which, of course, goes against Hampton Creek's marketing.

zzalpha• 12 years ago

"You probably never noticed, and just had a really nice sandwich."

Speak for yourself. When I buy spread for my sandwiches, I buy mayonnaise, not some ill-defined "spread". I'm sure I'm not the only one.

The entire point of labeling regulations is to prevent exactly this kind of misleading branding.

To me the true irony is that when it's some massive conglomerate labeling "pink slime" as meat, folks cry foul and demand government action. But when it's a sweetheart little startup being all "green" and "sustainable" while using similarly deceptive labeling (well, save that "pink slime" is at least a meat product whereas "Just Mayo" isn't mayo by any traditional definition), suddenly it's okay because they're the "good guys".

igurari• 12 years ago

Depends on which meaning of "Just" you use:

1. guided by truth, reason, justice, and fairness: We hope to be just in our understanding of such difficult situations.

2. exactly or precisely: This is just what I mean.

batbomb• 12 years ago

Technically speaking, mayonnaise is oil, an lecithin based emulsifier derived from egg yolks, and an acid (which may be vinegar, or mustard, or something else).

If you get a vegan emulsifier to work as good or better than eggs, then go ahead and call it the generic, unprotected "mayo"- because that's what it is, and that's how it will be used.

This blog post/article is a bit hyperbolic with the whole the dirty egg industry thing.

Turing_Machine3• 12 years ago

I disagree.

A hamburger is beef. People often call them "burgers" for short.

Vegan substitutes exist, but they are called "veggieburgers", "gardenburgers", or similar, not "burgers".

If you try to sell gardenburgers as "burgers", you're being misleading, and you're likely to run afoul of the law.

abandonliberty2• 12 years ago

Whiny?

Unilever is asking the court not only to make Hampton Creek stop using the Just Mayo name (and remove all current product from store shelves), but also to pay Unilever the amount obtained from profits, plus triple damages.

I do not understand how our legal system entitles Unilever to anything.

smackfu3• 12 years ago

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1125 and http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/15/1117

First section says that someone using a misleading word or term "shall be liable in a civil action by any person who believes that he or she is or is likely to be damaged by such act." Second section says a winning plaintiff is entitled to profits, and up to treble damages.

bryanlarsen2• 12 years ago

Miracle Whip manages to sell in huge quantities without calling themselves "Mayo". If Miracle Whip can do it, so can Hampton Creek.

Turing_Machine3• 12 years ago

Exactly.

I noted above that Kraft also makes a real mayonnaise, which they call "Kraft Mayo".

I'm surprised they're not right in there with Unilever complaining about this.

rayiner• 12 years ago

So it's called "Just Mayo," mayonnaise being a food product that contains eggs by definition, and has a picture of an egg on its label. But it isn't mayonnaise and doesn't contain eggs. Maybe the hipster irony is just lost on me.

yebyen• 12 years ago

It's a picture of an egg with a plant growing inside of it. I don't really know how much clearer the iconography could actually be. It's mayo, but with some plant product instead of chicken eggs. Were you really deceived, or are you playing devil's advocate? (Edit: parent edited his post, it no longer says "deceptive marketing at its best.")

I agree that "mayo" is generally considered to be synonymous with "mayonnaise" and that mayonnaise has a precise definition in the law, but neither of these are a trademark. The law doesn't define "mayo." It defines mayonnaise.

It's not clear to me if the standards of "confusingly similar" still apply in cases outside of trademark. I know this is a standard in trademark. It's not like they're marketing a non-dairy "malk", which is obviously OK.

Maybe they should change the product name to "Nellman's" and they would be better off. I went looking for any brand of Mayonnaise that markets itself as just "Mayo" and didn't find one.

bryanlarsen2• 12 years ago

To me, that logo looks like a perfect logo for real mayonnaise: it contains the two main ingredients: an egg + a plant representing the oil.

_-__---• 12 years ago

As for the egg on the label, it's probably the idea of the plant growing into the empty place left by the removal of an egg, but the minimalist color scheme makes that kind of confusing (hard to imply negative space when all shapes are a different color pasted onto cardboard.

But yeah, it isn't mayo. Might work like mayo, but it ain't mayo. If they just put something on the packaging that says it isn't mayo, that'd probably be good enough?

I'd be more concerned about the lack of sustainability in the other half of a tuna salad sandwich

calbear81• 12 years ago

How about "I can't believe it's not mayo"?

mayneack• 12 years ago

I'm getting a 500 Internal Service Error

https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:http:/...

smackfu3• 12 years ago

I think the biggest weakness in the complaint is that they have to argue that the shorthand "mayo" is the same as the protected term "mayonnaise," and is controlled by the same rules. The fact that they use dictionary definitions to make that case, rather than federal code, is rather telling.

Consider that "chocolaty" is considered a valid workaround for "chocolate", but the dictionary for "chocolaty" says "made of or like chocolate."

verulito• 12 years ago

Shelf stable mayo is disgusting. Make it at home and compare. None of these companies should be able to call their product mayo. Sure they meet the technical definition of mayo, having at least the ingredients that whafro lists, but they also contain a bunch of other crap that significantly alters the texture and flavor. Just Mayo does seem to be even further from real mayo than most of the competition.

I don't see what the big hubub is about. Hellman can pursue all three strategies to win at the same time. Innovate, market, AND sue! Not to defend the system but it's the one we have and I don't blame them for taking advantage of it.

undersuit2• 12 years ago

The Pot calling the kettle black.

Traditional Mayonnaise used olive oil, most companies use soybean oil now for it's preservative properties and low price. I can't buy a 100% olive oil mayo, but Hellman's gets to cry about eggs?

robgibbons• 12 years ago

Rename it to Almost Mayo, and they've got no problems!

Big Mayo Files Lawsuit Against Food-Tech Startup Hampton Creek

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