Duke’s Mayo has been a
Southern staple for more than a century, born in Greenville, South Carolina, in 1917. For most of that time, it stayed tightly regional. Now the Richmond, Virginia-based brand is turning its cult
status into a national challenger, launching “The Mayo Is Coming,” a national ad campaign created by Familiar
Creatures, and using its Duke’s Mayo Bowl to harness fan culture and weird rituals, with a very un-mayo-like tone.
It’s all working. Duke’s, now in roughly 65% of stores that
sell mayonnaise, has increased its dollar share of the market to about 10%, moving into second place behind Hellmann’s. Rebecca Lupesco, director of marketing, tells CPG Insider which
brand strategies are working best.
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Interview has been edited for length and clarity.
CPG Insider: You’ve recently passed Kraft to become the No. 2
position in a crowded category, which is a big deal. How do you describe Duke’s as a challenger?
Rebecca
Lupesco: If you walk into the mayonnaise aisle, it’s just a sea of blue. Duke’s has been around for 100 years. We have the same recipe since 1917. We have the traditions and
values that go with being an established brand, but we’re still different from the rest of the category. It’s not just our yellow presence -- it’s our flavor. There’s no sugar,
which is unique to the category, and there's apple cider vinegar, which gives us our signature tanginess and a richer taste. We’re known for that, and we can bring that excitement into the mayo
aisle, both in-store and outside.
CPG Insider: You’re continuing to expand nationally. When did you
know it was time for a broader campaign?
Lupesco: We’ve been focused on new distribution for the past several years, as we expand
into the Northeast, West and South Central, like Texas. More is coming, and we expect to be in 80% of stores soon.
“Welcome to Duke’s Country,” which was created in 2024, is
still the platform. It was based on this consumer truth that people want to be part of the family. Yes, we’ve been a Southern brand, but we’re not limited by geography anymore, and this
work is more of an invitation. The new national spot just shows that. We’re in small towns, big cities, and maybe even on a deserted island, bringing flavor to bland foods.
CPG
Insider: Many CPG brands are losing out to private label, as people worry about grocery prices. How does that impact you?
Lupesco: Mayonnaise is an indulgence. You’re putting mayonnaise on your sandwich because it’s going to make it taste better, but it’s also not that expensive. The trading
down to private label has slowed compared to what we’ve seen in the past. We play in that Hellmann’s–Kraft–Duke’s category, and in the past year, we’ve passed Kraft
to be the number two real mayonnaise. Private label continues to shrink.
CPG Insider: You also sponsor the
Duke’s Mayo Bowl. What role does that actually play in your brand strategy?
Lupesco: We started the bowl game in 2020, which, of course, was like the worst time to sponsor a live event. But Duke’s was created in South Carolina in 1917, and if
you’ve been in Virginia, South Carolina, or North Carolina, you probably heard of Duke’s.
In Charlotte, which is where the bowl game is played, about 50% of mayonnaise sold is
Duke’s Mayo. So it’s this big home base for us, and the bowl is a cultural moment. And when people think of the South, Duke’s Mayo and college football tailgating are both religions,
all about food, friends and football. Every year, we’ve been able to activate the fan culture of the brand while also celebrating food and fandom, college football and the game itself.
CPG Insider: The “mayo bath” moment has taken on a life of its own.
Lupesco: One of the traditions of college football is that once you win, someone empties a Gatorade jug over the coach. The first year, we used a
Gatorade jug and just branded it with Duke’s. But the broadcast and social media reactions were like, “Oh my gosh, is that mayonnaise?” And we pissed people off because it was just
Gatorade. So now we give the people what they want: a mayo bath after the Mayo Bowl for the winning coach. And they get to direct a $10,000 donation.
CPG Insider: What’s your advice to other challenger and regional brands?
Lupesco: You can’t just be a small version of the big brands. We can’t outspend our competitors, so we have to do something that’s going to cut through
and have a point of view and show up differently. That’s probably why some of the bigger brands are sometimes envious of smaller brands. We can do things like a Mayo Bath, or Hot Tomato Summer,
where we work with restaurants that create amazing tomato and mayonnaise dishes. We’ve given away Duke’s tattoos at events. Our rule: Just don’t act like the big guys.