HELLMANN’S
THE WORLD FAMOUS CONDIMENT
Hellmann’s was founded in 1905 by German immigrant Richard Hellmann in his New York City deli with his wife, Margaret. Their iconic recipe was originally sold in small wooden butter boats, but after taking off in popularity, they were inspired to close up the deli and pursue the production of Hellmann’s mayonnaise. After the success of selling commercially and the iconic reusable jar the product came in, Richard officially rebranded to “Blue Ribbon Mayonnaise” in 1913. The blue ribbon that still remains on the packaging today was added to resemble high quality and differentiate itself from other products.
FROM COAST TO COAST TO GLOBAL
During the 1920s, another mayonnaise company became very popular on the West Coast called “Best Foods,” which went on to acquire Hellmann’s in 1932. Both companies continued to manufacture mayo, Hellmann’s on the East Coast and Best Foods on the West Coast, however, under the same recipe. Hellmann’s went international in the 1960s when they expanded into the UK, followed by Europe, Canada, and Latin America soon after. Hellmann’s mayonnaise is now operated and produced by Unilever after purchasing Best Foods in 2000 and remains the number one selling mayonnaise brand worldwide.
