heinz seriously good mayo

Heinz will take on Hellmann’s branded mayo monopoly when it launches Seriously Good Mayonnaise next month.

Available in standard and light, the mayonnaise will be available in a barrel-shaped glass jar in 480ml (rsp: £2.49) and 710ml (rsp: £3.49) sizes, along with three sizes of squeezy PET packs (rsp: £1.69-£3.99). It will be in Sainsbury’s from early March, with other retail listings following in April. The existing Heinz Mayonnaise range - which launched in 2007 and is only listed in one major mult, Asda - will be taken off the market.

The launch will be supported by a £7m spend across TV, outdoor, PR and digital. A ‘Try Our New Mayo’ flash will also feature on 30 million bottles of Heinz Tomato Ketchup from April to July, and 1.4 million samples will be given away.

Branded mayonnaise is dominated by Hellmann’s, with sales of £96.1m across its Real Mayonnaise, Light and Extra Light variants [Nielsen 52 w/e 10 October 2015]. At £7.2m, Heinz is worth just 7.5% of its rival.

Heinz said a lack of excitement in mayonnaise had led to low engagement among young consumers, with penetration in the 16 to 24 age group just 58%, compared with 70% overall. It would win back lapsed users by offering a superior tasting product with no artificial ingredients, the supplier said.

“We’ve spent the past 18 months becoming mayonnaise experts and channelling all our learnings into creating a ‘seriously good’ product,” said Ross Longton, UK marketing lead for sauces at Heinz.