Dive Brief:
- Hampton Creek Foods, the three-year-old company backed by Bill Gates and Jerry Yang, is gaining traction with its egg-free Just Mayo.
- The company has landed a distribution deal with Walmart -- pushing its vegan mayo in front of a massive, mainstream group of consumers.
- Just Mayo won distribution in Whole Foods less than a year ago and rapidly became the best-selling mayonnaise in the chain.
Dive Insight:
Never underestimate the power of marketing. Hampton Creek has been masterful in its pursuit of press coverage, its seduction of the techie crowd, and its use of social media. There have been vegan mayos for many years,but only Just Mayo is winning distribution deals at places like DollarTree, Kroger, Whole Foods, and now Walmart.