Hellmann’s mayo switches to free-range eggs

Brand owner Unilever Foodsolutions said the change will move 200,000 hens out of cages each year. The announcement comes in the wake of the TV campaign by Jamie Oliver drawing consumer attention to the conditions intensively-farmed chickens are kept in.

Susan Gregory, category marketing director, Unilever Foodsolutions, said the company proactively decided to make the change to free-range eggs for Hellmann’s Mayonnaise in 2006.

“Hellmann’s is a large user of eggs and we had to ensure that we could keep up with demand while ensuring that the quality and taste remained the same. At the time there simply weren’t enough free-range eggs available to satisfy demand. However, now that production of free-range eggs has increased we are able to move our supply and ensure better living standards and quality of life for the laying hens we use.”