Hellmann’s built a brand on a winning recipe.

Hellmann’s is a lesson in turning a small mark of quality into an icon. Richard Hellmann, a German immigrant, opened a delicatessen in New York City around 1905, where he sold mayonnaise in portions to customers. Demand grew, he built a dedicated factory, and on September 1, 1913 he began selling jarred “Hellmann’s Blue Ribbon Mayonnaise” — switching from bulk to reusable clear glass jars. The blue ribbon is the heart of it: Hellmann reportedly offered several mayonnaise recipes marked with different-coloured ribbons, and the blue-ribbon one won out with customers. In 1914 he simplified the label to that single blue ribbon and trademarked it. A deli favourite, distilled into a mark. (Honest caveats: no official brand hex or wordmark typeface is published, so the colours and type here are approximate.)

The brand has a fun quirk of geography. Hellmann’s and Best Foods are the same product under two names: in 1932, Best Foods Inc. (California) bought Richard Hellmann Inc. (New York) and kept both brands — “Hellmann’s” east of the Rockies, “Best Foods” west of the Rockies. It’s one of the most famous regional-branding splits in American groceries, and the number-one thing people get wrong (they’re not different products; they’re the same mayonnaise, dual-branded).

Visually, Hellmann’s is defined by that blue label and blue ribbon — a deep, trustworthy navy that reads as classic and dependable. A 2017 rebrand moved from a two-tone blue to a cleaner single matte blue with a more deli-inspired, crafted look. The brand’s modern voice — “Bring Out the Best,” plus heavy anti-food-waste and sustainability messaging and frequent Super Bowl ads — keeps a century-old staple culturally current. On ownership, Hellmann’s is a Unilever brand. A blue ribbon that still means best.

Hellmann’s lives in navy blue. Click a swatch to copy the hex.

Hellmann’s palette is anchored by a deep, trustworthy navy and blue — the label ground and the signature blue ribbon — with white and a soft mayonnaise yellow. The blue reads as classic, dependable and premium (unusual and ownable for a food brand, where blue is rare), while the white and yellow keep it clean, fresh and appetising. Together they make a century-old staple feel trustworthy and quality-first — exactly what the blue-ribbon story promises. The honest caveat: Hellmann’s publishes no official public brand hex — the blues and yellow here are approximations, not a confirmed spec.

The lesson is own an unexpected, trustworthy colour. Hellmann’s deep blue is rare in food and therefore ownable, and it signals quality and dependability. For designers, it’s a reminder that a “non-food” colour, used consistently, can become a brand’s most recognisable asset. The takeaways: pick a distinctive, trust-signalling primary (the navy blue); tie it to a story (the winning blue ribbon); and treat specific hexes as approximate when no official spec is published.

The wordmark is a bold, deli-style slab — trustworthy and classic.

Hellmann’s bold wordmark — classically in blue — is trustworthy and classic. The heavy, confident letters read as dependable and quality-first, matching a brand that has sold itself on “best” for over a century, and the 2017 rebrand leaned into a crafted, deli-inspired feel (with bespoke lettering) to make it feel less synthetic and more artisanal. Set against the navy label and the blue ribbon, the type behaves like the brand: sturdy, honest and premium. (Because the exact face is custom and undocumented, the honest description is “a bold, deli-style slab,” not a named font.) The type behaves like the brand: trustworthy, classic and crafted.

Hellmann’s made ‘best’ a lasting promise.

Hellmann’s is a lesson in building a brand on a simple, credible promise: best. The blue ribbon began as a literal mark of the winning recipe, and Hellmann’s has spent a century making “best” its entire identity — in the name (Best Foods), in the ribbon, in “Bring Out the Best.” That consistency, wrapped in a distinctive, trustworthy blue, turned a deli mayonnaise into one of the most recognisable food brands in America. The Hellmann’s/Best Foods split even shows how a brand can hold a single promise under two names across a continent.

For designers and brand-builders, Hellmann’s offers a clear takeaway: a simple, credible quality promise, consistently expressed, becomes a lasting brand. The lessons: turn a real mark of quality into an ownable icon (the blue ribbon); pick a distinctive, trust-signalling colour and stick with it (the navy blue); and keep the promise consistent across everything, even multiple names (“best”). It’s also a reminder to keep the facts precise — Hellmann’s began at Richard Hellmann’s NYC deli around 1905, launched jarred “Blue Ribbon” mayonnaise in 1913, is the same product as Best Foods (split east/west of the Rockies since the 1932 merger), and is owned by Unilever. Hellmann’s made “best” a promise — proof that a credible mark of quality can carry a brand for a century.

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