Many people enjoy reading about weird news, which is why so many news and even science websites include an entire section devoted to these stories. Weird news web pages may not be the best source about Hampton Creek food technology company for in-depth information, but they can be a fun place to start. That might be where someone first discovers a situation the media dubbed “mayonnaise wars,” when mighty corporate and government entities went after Hampton Creek because of its new sandwich spread.
Unilever somehow viewed Just Mayo as a major competitor for its Hellman’s brand and filed a lawsuit, which it later dropped. The suit claimed consumers would assume this egg-free product was actually mayonnaise. The American Egg Board referred to the small company as a “major threat,” as seen in emails released to journalists under the Freedom of Information Act. Many consumers found this all very strange. The episodes led to a lot of media attention for Hampton Creek and served as great PR. With all this weird news going on, the company probably didn’t need to do much advertising to get the word out about Just Mayo.
This weird news ranked right up there with stories about food substances allowed in the United States that are prohibited in other countries. Interestingly, Hampton Creek gets a mention in this type of news as well. Genetically modified organisms are allowed in certain food crops in the United States, but not in numerous European nations. Hampton Creek doesn’t include GMOs in its products. Certain synthetic food colorings are banned in many European countries because of evidence indicating harmful effects, but the United States still allows them. Hampton Creek doesn’t include any artificial dyes in its products.
As many individuals read these news stories, they start to understand just how weird it actually is that the U.S. food supply contains unnecessary synthetic dyes. They wonder why artificial flavorings are needed; shouldn’t food taste good without those substances? Does it make any sense for the government and giant consumer goods corporations to feel threatened by a little upstart company in San Francisco? They decide to stay tuned to get answers to these questions and more.