Mayonnaise 'tops favourite dressing list'

Mayonnaise is firmly ahead of salad cream as the nation’s top choice of dressing, figures today show.

Sales of the egg-based favourite have risen 10% since 2004 to hit £97m this year, according to market analysts Mintel.

By contrast, sales of sharper-tasting salad cream have remained static at £49m nnually for the past three years.

The Hellmann’s brand is said to be largely behind mayo’s popularity boom.

Sales of all types of the dressing are set to break through the £100m (€1.4m) mark within the next few years while salad cream is expected to dip by 2010, Mintel predicts.

Alexandra Richmond, senior consumer analyst at Mintel, said: “Sales of mayonnaise have been driven by Hellmann’s, which has championed its versatility, encouraging Brits to use mayonnaise in sandwiches and as an accompaniment to all kinds of meals, not just salads.

“Meanwhile, salad cream has suffered at the hands of poor levels of innovation.”

Reduced fat and lower calorie versions of both types of dressing have become more popular in recent years as shoppers grow more health-conscious, according to Mintel’s salad accompaniments report.

According to Heinz, its own-brand salad cream was first made in the UK in 1925 and became popular during war-time rationing because it added a tangy flavour to bland foods.