Consumer Behavior Change Marketing & Communications

Hellmann's Declares New Holiday to Fight Post-Super Bowl Food Waste

The mayo brand is once again aiming to inspire game-day partiers to reimagine mouthwatering dishes out of their leftovers, in honor of #SickofFoodWasteDay.

Published 9 months ago | About a 4 minute read

Image: Hellmann's

The Monday after the Super Bowl is known for being a major “sick” day, with 16+ million US football fans estimated to call in “sick” from work this year. So, this Monday, Feb. 12, Hellmann's is inviting everyone — whether they’re going to work or not — to work at fighting post-game day food waste.

For the fourth year in a row, Hellmann’s ad during the Super Bowl puts food waste front and center with one of the biggest TV audiences of the year. In addition to introducing the world to the talking “Mayo Cat” in this year's ad, featuring Kate McKinnon, the latest installment of the mayonnaise brand’s ongoing “Make Taste, Not Waste” campaign is declaring the day after the big game “Sick of Food Waste Day.”

Image credit: Hellmann's

The Super Bowl is one of the biggest food-wasting occasions of the year in the US (second only to Thanksgiving), with over 140K pounds of extra food at official events alone — and that doesn't factor in the massive number of watch parties in homes, bars or restaurants. That's why Hellmann's is aiming to once again inspire game-day partiers to reimagine mouthwatering dishes out of their leftovers, simply with the help of a dollop of mayo.

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And Hellmann’s says "Make Taste, Not Waste" is having a significant impact: Unilever North America’s senior director of marketing, Chris Symmes, told The Cool Down this week that over the last three years, they have seen a 24 percent increase in conversation around food waste during and after the Super Bowl, and an increase in their mayo sales among Gen Z and Millennials.

This year, the brand is further doubling down on its dedication to food-waste reduction through a $100,000 donation to its partner, Food Recovery Network (FRN) — one of the largest student-led movements fighting food waste to end hunger in the US. FRN and Hellmann's will be on the ground in Las Vegas on Sunday, Feb. 11 to rescue surplus food from the 10th annual pre-game party and celebrity food fest, Players Tailgate, and donate it to The Just One Project — a local nonprofit working to end the cycle of hunger and provide food to people in southern Nevada. In partnership with Bullseye Event Group, which produces Players Tailgate, FRN has recovered over 10,000 pounds of food from the event in the past three years.

"We are proud of our partnership with Food Recovery Network as we continue our commitment to help educate and inspire people to fight food waste in their own homes, whether that's the day after the Big Game or throughout the year," Symmes says. "Our work to encourage awareness for reducing post-event food waste, by inventing new 'holidays' or helping people creating delicious recipes with leftovers, underscores our vision for a more sustainable future."

Win a trip to next year’s Super Bowl

Every fan who posts to TikTok or Instagram Reels tagging @hellmannsmayonnaise, #SickOfFoodWasteDay and #Sweepstakes on Sick of Food Waste Day has the chance to win a trip to next year’s big game in New Orleans next year*. The winner will also help next year's big game food-recovery efforts alongside Food Recovery Network.

"We are thrilled to partner with Hellmann's to fight food waste and support those who don't have enough food to eat," says Regina Anderson, Executive Director of the Food Recovery Network. "44 million people are unnecessarily facing food insecurity right now, while more than 42 million tons of food goes to waste each year. Fighting food waste can happen at large events like this and in lots of other locations like our schools, our conferences, and our homes.

“We all have the power to ensure perfectly good food doesn't go to waste; and we are excited to work with Hellmann's — a name everyone knows — to ensure everyone understands how critical an issue food waste is and the small, simple actions you can take to make a difference."

Sick of Food Waste Day is the latest demonstration of Hellmann's long-term commitment to champion and invest in programs, partnerships and policy advocacy to make fighting food waste convenient, so it never makes it to a landfill.

Visit Hellmann's Sick of Food Waste Day site for recipes to inspire your post-game day culinary creations.

*NO PURCH NEC. 50 US & DC, 18+. Ends 3/12. Rules: https://www.hellmanns.com/us/en/sofw-day-sweepstakes-rules.html