Hellmann’s vs. Best Foods: Same Brand Different Names

Same Brand Different Name

Hellmann’s vs. Best Foods

Hellmann’s and Best Foods are brand names that are used for the same line of mayonnaise and other food products. The Hellmann’s brand is sold in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains, and also in Latin America, Europe, Middle East and Canada. The Best Foods brand is sold in the United States west of the Rockies, and also in Asia, Australia, and New Zealand. Hellmann’s and Best Foods are basically marketed the same way. They both have similar logos and web sites, and they have the same English slogan: “Bring out the best.”

The Marketing behind the Brands

The West Coast mayonnaise company Best Foods bought its East Coast rival Hellmann’s in 1932 and kept both names — it didn’t want to rename itself with its competitor’s identity and both companies had very large market shares in their respective regions. (Hellmann’s had been around since 1905, when German immigrant Richard Hellmann started selling mayonnaise out of his New York deli.) The newly combined company continued to use both names but united the two brands in 1968 by using the characteristic Hellmann’s blue ribbon on the Best Foods packaging. In 2000 the British company Unilever purchased the company. Since 2007, both products have featured the same exact logo to make the brands look like sister products. Both have exactly the same commercials and advertisement but with the names switched. Some people say that Best Foods and Hellmann’s use different recipes, which are based on the original recipes, but both products have the same ingredients. So it’s up to each person’s perception as to which tastes different.