Unilever Food Solutions introduced the imported Hellmann’s Real Mayonnaise to the region two years ago, where it joined Hellmann’s Standard and Hellmann’s Light mayonnaise products, which are produced locally, according to Lucas Dollfuss, head of marketing for Middle East, Pakistan and Sri Lanka at UFS, speaking at Gulfood.
Fastest-growing product
“It’s the fastest-growing product for us, because there’s a lot of demand for really good mayonnaise in the market. Especially when you compare it to a lot of mayonnaise which is already here in the market, which is just not very good quality. I think chefs recognise it depends on ingredients – if you make a sandwich, it doesn’t make sense to save on the mayo,” said Dollfuss.
“We know we have a lot of chefs in this region coming from the US, who know this product and love it – and they’ve asked us why we don’t bring the real Hellmann’s in. It’s one-to-one the same product as in the US,” he added.
Along with mayonnaise, UFS is also promoting Colman’s mustard – but the region’s US-influenced tastes can make it hard for the product to take off, said Dollfuss.
“In this region, people are looking for American mustard, because that’s what they’re used to. But if you look at roasts and so on, Colman’s fits in perfectly. And you have a lot of chefs from the UK and Europe who know the brand, so it works well for us,” he said.
Lipton’s got some brand new bags
Gulfood saw UFS relaunch its Lipton Exclusive Selection premium teabag range, with new packaging designs and three new flavours. Dollfuss said the range was intended to compete in mid-range markets, and take advantage of consumers’ brand awareness of Lipton.
“What’s interesting about this market is that Lipton is a really well-known brand. We can see, even though a hotel might have really fancy brands, some people ask for a regular Lipton black tea, most of the time,” he said.
“So this range gives you a blend of both – you have the Lipton brand, but you have something which is more premium than a regular tea bag. For us, we find that combination works quite well. Yes, we won’t go into five-star hotels with this, because there are very premium teas – but wherever there’s a double-chamber flavoured tea bag, that’s where we’re targeting this,” Dollfuss added.