Tuesday 22 April 2014

Mayo Label Collection: Mini Mayo For A Mayor Price


T2. Alna. Naplus, Tunesia. February 2000. 1,350 dinar (€ 1,05) for 9 cl!!

In my latest Mayonnaise Label Collection entry on Lesieux, I posted one of the very few labels I possess from a Muslim country (Tunesia) and observed that the Golden Sauce is not exactly a staple in Islamic cuisine. I also confessed that I had no ready explanation for that lack of popularity. However, from time to time one does gain an impression by looking at local practices; and today’s brand is a case in point.




For who can be surprised that Mayonnaise never reaches broad national popularity if this is how we market it?! Only 9 cl of sauce, for more than an €uro! That is almost 12 € per litre! La Veuve Clicquot is often cheaper! And where does all that money go? What does it pay for? Well, not to buy ingredients of the highest quality, I assure you! You are basically paying for the packaging. For only the kitschy label and ditto cap are golden here, not the sauce itself. The matter to emerge from this Lilliput jar was basically oil: liquid, tasteless, and most lamentable. It served – grand total – one Oeuf Mayonaise. And did it no great service.




Note that the little strip cut out of the label was missing on purchase. Everybody may decide for himself what it originally said. But note that there is no Sell By Date to be found anywhere else… In short: some manufacturers are as unscrupulous as the retailers that sell their products!


Post Scriptum: My good friend Azra Ali, who is at present residing in Saudi Arabia, has told me she will look out for Saudi Mayonnaise labels to add to the collection. Alfred B. Mittington’s heart rejoices with the prospect. For what IS a collection of Mayonnaise labels that falls so horridly short of items from North-Africa and the Middle East?



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