4 ms·

I want to see the pitch deck that convinced investors eggless mayo was work a quarter of a billion bucks.

by Clanan 9y ago

benologist 9y ago
Why couldn't it be? Hellmann’s alone accounted for $401.2 million in sales last year, according to Businessweek — nearly a third of the total $1.3 billion mayo market here. http://nypost.com/2011/09/17/hellmanns-mayonnaise-americas-best-selling-condiment/ http://nypost.com/2011/09/17/hellmanns-mayonnaise-americas-b...
- ghaff 9y ago
  Because what can be so hard about "disrupting" a 100 year old brand that is probably the only mayonnaise brand that most Americans could name? Added: Yes mayo is a big market but the odds of some eggless mayo specialty product capturing a huge chunk of it is... slim.
  - pg_bot 9y ago
    If you want a great mayonnaise try Duke's. https://www.dukesmayo.com/ https://www.dukesmayo.com/
    - brightball 9y ago
      Was about to add this. Seriously people, the south knows Dukes is where it's at.
    - ghaff 9y ago
      I didn't realize was such a regional thing :-) We also have Cain's in Massachusetts.
  - Turing_Machine 9y ago
    "...probably the only mayonnaise brand that most Americans could name?" Depends on the region of the country. :-) Hellman's is East Coast, Best Foods is West (same company, basically the same product). I expect that many could also name Kraft Mayonnaise. Note that Kraft makes both mayonnaise (which has eggs) and Miracle Whip (which doesn't).
    - camiller 9y ago
      Miracle Whip has eggs. Granted it is the sixth ingredient listed while on Hellman's it is the third, but both have eggs.
- paulcole 9y ago
  I'd be looking towards the rest of the $900 million market, a lot of which has to be restaurant sales. Restaurants are notoriously cheap and work on thin margins. How many people know (or care) what kind of mayo Wendy's, McDonald's, etc. use? If Hampton Creek can make a product that's comparable on taste and less expensive that market is pretty ripe for the picking. I know that if ifs and buts were candy and nuts, we'd all have a merry christmas, but it seems like a goal worth reaching for.
criddell 9y ago
Me too. There has to be more to this story.
entee 9y ago
Full disclosure: I worked at HC for 8 months about 2.5 years ago Having seen some of the messaging, the pitch isn't about mayo, it's about better food. Certain kinds of food have a pretty heavy environmental cost, HC and a number of other companies (notably http://impossiblefoods.com http://impossiblefoods.com , again disclosure, the founder of IF was my co-adviser in grad school) are trying to create a food chain that is more sustainable without compromising taste. When HC pitched it would go something like this: "How about a world where food tastes better than it does today, is more healthy, all while being radically more sustainable. We've done it with Mayo, invest with us and we'll do it to the rest of the food system." On its face, not a terrible pitch, especially given that they'd created a product and gotten it on tons of store shelves in short order. There are certainly flaws at HC and in the pitch's promises and whether they were kept. But I think from the viewpoint of investors that pitch makes a lot of sense at least early on. It certainly did to me as someone who ended up working there for a bit. Edit: typo
draw_down 9y ago
"Show me the genius who thought a book store could change the world."

I want to see the pitch deck that convinced investors eggless mayo was work a quarter of a billion bucks.

by Clanan 9y ago

I want to see the pitch deck that convinced investors eggless mayo was work a quarter of a billion bucks.

Why couldn't it be? Hellmann’s alone accounted for $401.2 million in sales last year, according to Businessweek — nearly a third of the total $1.3 billion mayo market here. http://nypost.com/2011/09/17/hellmanns-mayonnaise-americas-best-selling-condiment/ http://nypost.com/2011/09/17/hellmanns-mayonnaise-americas-b...

ghaff 9y ago
Because what can be so hard about "disrupting" a 100 year old brand that is probably the only mayonnaise brand that most Americans could name? Added: Yes mayo is a big market but the odds of some eggless mayo specialty product capturing a huge chunk of it is... slim.
- pg_bot 9y ago
  If you want a great mayonnaise try Duke's. https://www.dukesmayo.com/ https://www.dukesmayo.com/
  - brightball 9y ago
    Was about to add this. Seriously people, the south knows Dukes is where it's at.
  - ghaff 9y ago
    I didn't realize was such a regional thing :-) We also have Cain's in Massachusetts.
- Turing_Machine 9y ago
  "...probably the only mayonnaise brand that most Americans could name?" Depends on the region of the country. :-) Hellman's is East Coast, Best Foods is West (same company, basically the same product). I expect that many could also name Kraft Mayonnaise. Note that Kraft makes both mayonnaise (which has eggs) and Miracle Whip (which doesn't).
  - camiller 9y ago
    Miracle Whip has eggs. Granted it is the sixth ingredient listed while on Hellman's it is the third, but both have eggs.
paulcole 9y ago
I'd be looking towards the rest of the $900 million market, a lot of which has to be restaurant sales. Restaurants are notoriously cheap and work on thin margins. How many people know (or care) what kind of mayo Wendy's, McDonald's, etc. use? If Hampton Creek can make a product that's comparable on taste and less expensive that market is pretty ripe for the picking. I know that if ifs and buts were candy and nuts, we'd all have a merry christmas, but it seems like a goal worth reaching for.

criddell 9y ago

Me too. There has to be more to this story.

entee 9y ago

Full disclosure: I worked at HC for 8 months about 2.5 years ago Having seen some of the messaging, the pitch isn't about mayo, it's about better food. Certain kinds of food have a pretty heavy environmental cost, HC and a number of other companies (notably http://impossiblefoods.com http://impossiblefoods.com , again disclosure, the founder of IF was my co-adviser in grad school) are trying to create a food chain that is more sustainable without compromising taste. When HC pitched it would go something like this: "How about a world where food tastes better than it does today, is more healthy, all while being radically more sustainable. We've done it with Mayo, invest with us and we'll do it to the rest of the food system." On its face, not a terrible pitch, especially given that they'd created a product and gotten it on tons of store shelves in short order. There are certainly flaws at HC and in the pitch's promises and whether they were kept. But I think from the viewpoint of investors that pitch makes a lot of sense at least early on. It certainly did to me as someone who ended up working there for a bit. Edit: typo

draw_down 9y ago

"Show me the genius who thought a book store could change the world."