California company Eat Just is best known for Just Egg and understandably so, as the company has focused most of its resources on popularizing the mung bean-based vegan egg for several years. Eat Just is also a subsidiary of Good Meat, a company known for being the first in the world to gain regulatory approval for its cultivated chicken.
But before chicken and the egg, there was Just Mayo—and fans could not get enough of the vegan condiment. But this popular product, and Eat Just’s entire condiment line, was discontinued four years ago leaving fans wondering if they would ever get a taste of the mung-based mayo ever again.
Eat Just
This week, Eat Just made dreams come true with its announcement that both Just Mayo and Just Ranch would be making a comeback in not one, but two, flavors next month at Whole Foods Market stores nationwide.
“We’ve received consistent feedback from our fans for the past four years that they miss Just Mayo and want us to bring it back,” Carrie Kabat, Head of Global Communications at Eat Just, tells VegNews.
“The flavors that we chose to bring back were some of the most popular, and have been some of the most requested, so we decided to start there,” Kabat says.
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Just Mayo and Just Ranch make a triumphant return
Founded in 2011, Eat Just has long been a pioneer in the plant-based food industry. The company’s team of culinary experts has relentlessly pursued the mission of offering animal-free versions of staple American foods, with a commitment to reducing harm to humans, animals, and the planet.
Eat Just
Just Mayo, initially introduced in 2013, quickly ascended to dominate the plant-based mayo category. Its creamy, cholesterol-free profile earned it universal acclaim, even surpassing conventional mayonnaises in taste tests. Celebrity chefs and food writers lauded Just Mayo as “delicious,” “a textural wonder,” and “a must-have brand.”
The vegan mayo was part of a larger condiment line and had a strong presence across natural and national retailers, including Whole Foods Market, Walmart, and Kroger.
Surprisingly, Eat Just decided to discontinue these highly successful condiments to focus on its growing plant-based egg business. The move was met with immediate protests and pleas from fans, who expressed their frustration through nearly four years of persistent online outreach.
“When we made the decision to bring these products back, our team worked as quickly as possible to make it happen,” Kabat says.
“The start of a new year always brings new products to market, so we hope the novelty of something ‘new’ combined with the excitement of a beloved favorite will drive people to pick up a jar (or two),” Kabat says.
In February, Whole Foods Markets will offer Just Mayo and Just Ranch in two flavors (Original and Chipotle) in the refrigerated section. In March, additional retailers will begin stocking shelf-stable versions of these products.
Matt Riley, Chief Revenue Officer for Eat Just, explained that bringing these products back makes fiscal sense for the company.
Eat Just
“My job is to sell food products and maximize revenue,” Riley said in a statement. “I forgot rule number one: continue to sell products that sell really well. I even wrote it down on my desk but somehow missed it.”
Vegan mayo on the rise
The vegan condiment landscape has undergone notable transformations since the original launch of Just Mayo. New players have captured the market—currently valued at $4.3 billion, according to Future Market Insights (FMI)—contributing to the diversification of plant-based options available to consumers.
These include products from major players such as Hellmann’s (which now offers a vegan mayonnaise in multiple markets including North America and Europe).
When Just Mayo first launched, Hellmann’s parent company Unilever took issue with the term “mayo,” even filing a lawsuit in 2014 against Eat Just—then called “Hampton Creek”—for its use of the term on a product that did not contain egg yolks. It also named its competing vegan mayo “Carefully Crafted Dressing and Sandwich Spread.”
The Unilever-owned company has since reneged on the semantics, now opting for “Vegan Mayo” on labels of its vegan-certified condiments.
Unilever
Kraft Heinz is also a new competitor in this segment—which FMI projects to nearly double to $8 billion by 2033— with last year’s launch of NotMayo, which it developed under its joint venture with Chilean startup The Not Company, which uses artificial intelligence to craft vegan products that are identical to their animal-based counterparts.
“There have been many new entrants into the condiment aisle since Just Mayo was last on shelf, which we love to see,” Kabat says. “More plant-based options for consumers is always a good thing.”
“At the same time, we know from consumer feedback that nothing compares to Just Mayo and Just Ranch,” she says.
Now that Just Mayo and Just Ranch are headed back to shelves, could customers expect more new (or revived) products from Eat Just?
“We’ll continue listening to our customers, taking their feedback to heart, and making delicious products that help reduce harm to animals and the environment,” Kabat says.
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Anna Starostinetskaya is the Senior News Editor at VegNews and is always keeping an eye on all things vegan in her home city of San Francisco, CA and everywhere else.
