Advertising board says a local mayonnaise is ‘ripping off’ Hellman’s

The Advertising Regulatory Board (ARB) of South Africa recently ruled in favor of Unilever South Africa over a mayonnaise packaging infringement dispute.

According to BizCommunity, the ARB stated that the packaging of Epic Foods’ Bellisima mayonnaise closely resembles the well-known design of Hellmann’s mayonnaise.

Mayonnaise packaging dispute

Unilever lodged the original complaint, arguing that Bellisima’s blue lid, two-toned label, and ribbon design mimicked Hellmann’s signature look.

This potentially misled consumers, they argued.

The ARB agreed, noting that Hellmann’s packaging had built strong brand recognition over time.

The ruling also noted Hellman’s temporary exit from the South African market in early 2023. The ARB found that Epic Foods sought to capitalise on this by imitating key visual elements.

Epic Foods did not respond to the complaint.

Regulatory action

The ARB found Bellisima’s packaging violated the following clauses:

• Clause 8 (Exploitation of Advertising Goodwill), and
• Clause 9 (Imitation) of the Code of Advertising Practice

As a result, ARB members must stop accepting advertisements for Bellisima’s current packaging within a month.

Hellmann’s temporary exit

Unilever explained that it had discontinued Hellmann’s in South Africa due to high import costs, officially withdrawing it on 31 January 2023. However, public demand led to its return in May/June 2023.

The ARB ruling suggests that Epic Foods took advantage of Hellmann’s absence to introduce Bellisima with a strikingly similar design, reinforcing consumer recognition of the brand’s trade dress.

“It is the Complainant’s suspicion that, when the Advertiser became aware of the discontinuation of the Hellmann’s product in South Africa, it saw this as opportunity to misappropriate the well-established and familiar Hellmann’s get-up in relation to its Bellisima offering,” the ruling read.

Have you been able to find Hellman’s in SA stores?

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