(English: ) is a Japanese brand of

mayonnaise Mayonnaise (), colloquially referred to as "mayo" (), is a thick, creamy sauce with a rich and tangy taste that is commonly used on sandwiches, hamburgers, Salad#Bound salads, bound salads, and French fries. It also forms the base for various o ...

produced by the Kewpie Corporation (キユーピー株式会社, ''Kyūpī kabushikigaisha''). Kewpie is the best-selling mayonnaise in Japan, and is also sold in other countries.

History

Shokuhin Kogyo Co. Ltd. (''食品工業株式会社'') was founded in

Nakano, Tokyo Nakano (, Latn, ja, Nakano-ku) is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in the Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. The English translation of its Japanese self-designation is Nakano City (, Latn, ja, Nakano-ku).

in 1919 by Toichiro Nakashima. He had previously worked in the United States for three years as an intern for the

Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce The was a cabinet-level ministry in the government of the Empire of Japan from 1881 to 1925. It was briefly recreated as the during World War II. History The original Ministry of Agriculture and Commerce was created on April 7, 1881, initially ...

, where he first encountered mayonnaise and the

Kewpie doll Kewpie is a brand of dolls and figurines that were conceived as comic strip characters by American cartoonist Rose O'Neill. The illustrated cartoons, appearing as baby cupid characters, began to gain popularity after the publication of O'Neil ...

that became his emblem. Originally, his business distributed canned salmon. Mayonnaise production began in 1925, and it has been the best-selling brand of mayonnaise in Japan ever since. The company is now called the Kewpie Corporation. The company stopped production of mayonnaise during World War II because of supply shortages and resumed production in 1948. Nakashima's businesses are based on "innovation, consistent improvement, and building cooperative frameworks, while fulfilling social responsibilities that ring true even in today's society", according to a Japanese academic journal. In 1998, the company was sued for US$7 million for trademark infringement by a Japanese businessman who had obtained the rights to the Kewpie doll in Japan. The company defended itself, saying that it had a trademark in Japan going back 73 years, and that the Kewpie character was in the public domain. The courts sided with the mayonnaise manufacturer. In 2020, the company had sales of US$5 billion. The company also manufactures cosmetics and pharmaceuticals. Amane Nakashima is the current chairman of Kewpie Corp., and is also president of the affiliated Nakashimato Co., a food distribution company.

Ingredients and flavor

Kewpie is made of apple cider vinegar or rice vinegar and egg yolks, resulting in a "more custardy consistency" than typical American mayonnaises, many of which are made out of whole eggs. It also contains vegetable oil,

monosodium glutamate Monosodium glutamate (MSG), also known as sodium glutamate, is a sodium salt of glutamic acid. MSG is found naturally in some foods including tomatoes and cheese in this glutamic acid form. MSG is used in cooking as a flavor enhancer with a ...

, salt and spices. A food writer with the ''

Sacramento Bee ''The Sacramento Bee'' is a daily newspaper published in Sacramento, California, in the United States. Since its foundation in 1857, ''The Bee'' has become the largest newspaper in Sacramento, the fifth largest newspaper in California, and the 2 ...

'' wrote that "Kewpie's irresistible flavor is different than other mayonnaises. After sweet, sour, salty and bitter, it is imbued with umami". The

umami Umami ( from ), or savoriness, is one of the five basic tastes. It is characteristic of broths and cooked meats. People taste umami through taste receptors that typically respond to glutamates and nucleotides, which are widely present in me ...

flavor component is the result of the monosodium glutamate. Comparing Kewpie to American mayonnaise, a food writer at the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' described the flavor: "The initial taste is mellower, creamier, even slightly fruity. The egginess is certainly stronger because of the yolk content, but it isn't overpowering. There's no added sugar, so it doesn't have that cloying sweetness of a Miracle Whip." Its flavor is described as more "assertive" than common American brands. Mari Katsumura of the Michelin-starred restaurant Yugen in Chicago compared Kewpie to U.S. market leader

Hellmann's Hellmann's and Best Foods are American brand names that are used for the same line of mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard, sauce, salad dressing, condiments and other food products. They have been owned by the British multinational company Unilever sinc ...

, concluding, "The acid is a bit higher, it's a little sweeter and the umami content is a little stronger, as well". In 2017, the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' conducted a blind taste test of 13 brands of mayonnaise sold in the United States. Kewpie was the "clear winner", described as "way ahead of the pack". According to the newspaper, "The aroma was pleasantly eggy, the texture creamy. The eggy flavor was slightly tangy, with what one taster described as a 'very pronounced' umami element."

Common uses

* Tamago sando, an

egg salad sandwich An egg sandwich is a sandwich with some kind of cooked egg filling. Fried eggs, scrambled eggs, omelette, sliced boiled eggs and egg salad (a mix of chopped cooked egg and mustard and mayonnaise) are popular options. In the last case, it may be c ...

widely sold in convenience stores in Japan *

Potato salad Potato salad is a salad dish made from boiled potatoes, usually containing a dressing and a variety of other ingredients such as boiled eggs and raw vegetables. It is usually served as a side dish. History and varieties Potato salad is foun ...

Sushi is a traditional Japanese dish made with , typically seasoned with sugar and salt, and combined with a variety of , such as seafood, vegetables, or meat: raw seafood is the most common, although some may be cooked. While sushi comes in n ...

Karaage is a Japanese cooking technique in which various foods—most often chicken, but also other meat and fish—are deep fried in oil. The process involves lightly coating small pieces of meat or fish with a combination of flour and potato starch ...

, lightly coated deep-fried pieces of marinated meat, usually chicken *

Takoyaki Takoyaki ( or ) is a ball-shaped Japanese snack made of a wheat flour-based batter (cooking), batter and cooked in a special molded pan. It is typically filled with minced or diced octopus as food, octopus (''tako''), tempura scraps (''tenkasu' ...

, battered and cooked balls of minced octopus *

Pizza topping Pizza is an Italian cuisine, Italian, specifically Neapolitan cuisine, Neapolitan, dish typically consisting of a flat base of Leavening agent, leavened wheat-based dough topped with tomato, cheese, and other ingredients, baked at a high t ...

Okonomiyaki is a Japanese ''teppanyaki'' savory pancake dish consisting of wheat flour batter and other ingredients (mixed, or as toppings) cooked on a '' teppan'' (flat griddle). Common additions include cabbage, meat, and seafood, and toppings include ...

, a savory pancake made of a flour batter, shredded cabbage and a variety of other ingredients * Spicy mayonnaise, Kewpie blended with

sriracha Sriracha ( or ; , ) is a type of hot sauce or chili sauce made from a paste of chili peppers, distilled vinegar, pickled garlic, sugar, and salt. It was first produced in 1932 by a native of Si Racha, a town and district of Thailand, though ...

Cultural impact

Kewpie 100 years event in Roppongi Hills

Kewpie fits into

yōshoku In Japanese cuisine, refers to a style of Western-influenced cooking which originated during the Meiji Restoration. These are primarily Japanized forms of European dishes, often featuring Western names, and usually written in katakana. It is an ...

(洋食 western food) – a style of Western-influenced cooking popular in Japan. The packaging is described as

kawaii ''Kawaii'' is a Japanese cultural phenomenon which emphasizes cuteness, childlike innocence, charm, and simplicity. ''Kawaii'' culture began to flourish in the 1970s, driven by youth culture and the rise of cute characters in manga and anime ...

or cute. Kewpie is described as a "cult favorite" in Japan. According to the ''Los Angeles Times'', "It has transcended the plane of mere human consumption to become a cultural touchstone — a passion that can border on obsession." There is a Japanese word マヨラー (mayora) which means a person addicted to mayonnaise. The company operates a museum in Tokyo called Mayo Terrace.

International sales

Kewpie has sold its products in China since 1993, and operates three factories in China, located in Beijing, Hangzhou and Guangzhou. These plants can produce 72,000 tons of mayonnaise each year, and Kewpie is the dominant brand in several of China's largest cities. Southeast Asia is also a significant market. The company has sold its products in the United States since the early 1990s. It has a factory there that produces mayonnaise without monosodium glutamate, as well as other salad dressing and flavored sauces. Overseas sales accounted for about 9% of the company's business in 2019.

References