Hellmann's and 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 Rocky Mountains, and also in Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.

Hellmann's and Best Foods are marketed in a similar way. Their logos and web sites resemble one another, and they have the same English slogan: "Bring out the best".

Both brands were previously sold by the U.S.-based Bestfoods Corporation, which also sold several other food products in addition to Hellmann's and Best Foods mayonnaise. Bestfoods, known as CPC international before 1997, was acquired by Unilever in 2000.

History

In 1903 Richard Hellmann (1876-1971) emigrated from Vetschau, Germany to New York City, where in August 1904 he married Margaret Vossberg, whose parents owned a delicatessen. In mid-1905 he opened his own delicatessen at 490 Columbus Avenue, where he developed his first ready-made mayonnaise, dished-out in small amounts to customers. It became so popular that he began selling it in bulk to other stores, constantly improving the recipe to make it avoid spoilage longer.