Duke's Stories

I take great pride in my southern heritage, but I have never really liked mayo -- I prefered Miracle Whip. Your commercial inspired me to try Duke's, and now I'm sold. It makes everything better, and as odd as it may sound, the great quality and value just helps to build my southern pride.

— Alan Camp, Villa Rica, GA

I feel that I owe Duke's a great debt of gratitude and I am writing to express my sincerest thanks.
From the time my wife and I have been together, she has made what is thought by many to be the best potato salad and cole slaw around (in particular by me..lol). She would make huge batches of both and I would BBQ ribs. We were set for days. She always used Kraft Mayo and would use nothing else. In recent years she would say that something just didn't taste right and that the texture wasn't right either. She tried different types of potatoes, tried to pick younger, fresher cabbage, and everything in between to get it right again. No luck. my wife stopped making potato salad and cole slaw almost altogether. I cannot even begin to tell you how dissappointed I was. One day she realized the mayo she was using just didn't seem to be the same. She went online and started doing research to see if anyone else had noticed a change in Kraft. She found days worth of reading from people with the same complaint. More importantly, she found people recommending Duke's Mayo and swearing they would never use anything else. So, we bought a small jar to try.
We have both now joined the ranks swearing by Duke's and swearing we will use nothing else. It's firm like Mayo should be. It has a rich taste. It is "the" perfect mayo. As a result of finally finding the culprit for ruining her potato salad and slaw, I am so happy to say that we are back to the days of 5 lbs. of potato salad at a time, along with large bowls of cole slaw. And yes, one of my simple pleasures is back as well, the mayonnaise sandwich. There is nothing like fresh bread and a big spoonful of Duke's. So, back to that debt of gratitude, I have to thank Duke's for making the perfect mayo. I can't imagine going to the rest of my life without my wife's potato salad and cole slaw. Duke's has made me a happy man again. Thank you.

— Rick D., Saint Leonard, MD

I live in Universal City, TX, 11 miles northeast of San Antonio. I saw your commercial on TV the other night, and due to my disgust with both Miracle Whip and Hellmann's mayo, I looked for your product when I went to the grocery store (HEB). I was delighted to find it and even more with the way my egg salad tasted when I made it with Duke's. Needless to say, I am now a convert and a happy and true believer. Long live Duke's!!

— Sherry Revill, Universal City, TX

THANK YOU for not only making a great mayo, but for still offering it in 32 oz. jars. I'm so tired of other companies that cut the size AND raise the price. The response I received was reducing the size is better than raising the price. Consumers are NOT that stupid.

— Leigh Edinger

Dear Duke's,

Recently the mayonnaise I had used for a long time reduced the amount of mayo they put in their jar. I then noticed that Duke's had not done so. I tried Duke's and found not only a great southern taste and a great southern tradition, but also a great southern value. Keep up the good work.

— Cliff Potter

For 29 of my 30 years on planet Earth, I eschewed mayonnaise at all turns. If it came slathered on a burger, I scraped it off. If someone brought cole slaw to a cookout, I took off in a hard run. Just last year, however, I was unknowingly served a sandwich with Duke's mayonnaise. Since this time, my mayonnaise paradigm has been turned on its ear. Without overstating things, Duke's mayonnaise is the best condiment I have ever tasted. I have not seen any Duke's mayonnaise advertising in my area. However, never fear. I have taken it upon myself to become a personal ambassador for your mayonnaise. I first converted my wife (a former Miracle Whip fan) and then baptized a number of friends and co-workers in the silky ribbons of mayonnaisy goodness.

I just thought you should know that you have a fan in Tennessee. Keep up the good work making mayonnaise. I will keep doing my part down here.

— Colin McCaffrey, Hermitage, TN

This is the best stuff ever! I live in Sothern California, and our big mayo is Best Foods -- Hellmann's on the east coast. Well, Duke's is the best. I got turned on to it from a dear friend of mine from Atlanta. She brought me back this huge container. At first i thought it was a joke. But, she knows how I love to cook, and told me I would never be without this after I try it. Well, I thought "How different can mayo be?" Well, let me tell you, nothing else will get past my front door other than Duke's. I have now ordered your sandwich spread and tartar sauce -- both winners. Thank God for the Internet and UPS, because I will be keeping a well stocked pantry of Duke's products. Thank you!

— Jack, West Hollywood, CA

I would like to thank you that Duke's mayo is still a full quart. For years I have paid exorbitant prices for Hellmann's mayo exclusively. That was until I realized I was being cheated. Hellmann's and Kraft mayo jars do not contain 32 ounces. What's worse, the consumer was never let in on the fact they were not getting a full quart, but were paying a higher price for LESS product. THANK YOU! I will always purchase Duke's mayo now and in the future. By the way, I use light mayo and I've found that Duke's light tastes better than Hellmann's or Kraft.

— Cathy Barr, Jacksonville, FL

Just wanted to let you know how much I love Duke's mayo. Growing up, we were a "Miracle Whip" household, and we never used mayonnaise. I started using mayo a few years ago, and couldn't understand what the big deal was...I still though Miracle Whip was the best. Last month I bought some Duke's for the first time (it was on sale and I had a coupon), and now I "get it"!! There is no comparison. Dressings are creamier, sandwiches are better, dips are better. You name it, everything made with Duke's is just plain better than using other mayo. I can hardly wait for summer to have a tomato sandwich with Duke's Mayo!! I'm now a customer for life. Too bad I've been missing out for the last 50 years. Thanks, and don't change a thing!

— Nancy McLoughlin

I lived in North Carolina for the first 45 years of my life. Five years ago my husband (before he was my husband) came to NC and dragged me all the way to San Antonio, TX. I arrived here and discovered, to my shock and amazement, that there was no Duke's Mayonnaise (along with no sweet salad cubes, Cheerwine, Sundrop, and a few other sundry items). I looked and looked and finally found it at HEB Central Market. I have been delighted to find out that HEB Grocery is now carrying my beloved Duke's Mayo. I am hoping to convince others of the delight of Duke's Mayo.

— Beth Shoemaker, San Antonio, TX

So I am not one to normally write to companies...however in this case I will make the exception. I just wanted to let you know that my family has always used Hellmann's mayo. Not because it was necessarily the best, but it was really the only one around. So my husband and I were grocery shopping (The Fresh Market, Glen Mills, PA) as we usually do on Sundays and we needed mayo. Fortunately for us they were OUT of Hellmann's, so we decided to give Duke's a try. From that day forward we will NEVER go back to Hellmann's mayo. Duke's was BY FAR so much better and had so much more flavor than Hellmann's. We love the tanginess that Duke's has and how much flavor it adds to what ever it is used in or on. Thank you so much for making such a great product. My family and I are officially your customers and we aren't even considering looking back!!

— Jessica Martin, Chadds Ford, PA

As a child, the only mayonnaise in our house was Duke's. I used to open it to make a sandwich, and I'd always "inhale" the unique smell of it (I still do that!). Your mayo was the special "taste" in all our sandwiches, it was there for all our family get togethers, and at all our holidays. Its special taste has been at almost every important event in my life -- and it makes the BEST coleslaw in the world!! I'm hooked on the rich flavor of Duke's. I don't lie any other kind of mayonnaise. I don't know what I'd do if you all went out of business, because if a recipe or sandwich calls for Mayo, to me, that means "Duke's"; and if it doesn't have Duke's mayo in it, it just isn't good. I haven't tried your fat free mayo, but you certainly hit it out of the ball park with the light version. When I'm dieting, it is an excellent replacement for the regular. So to your family from mine, thanks for making a product that I have loved over the years and has been as much a part of my southern epicurean life as iced sweet tea...hmmm, iced tea and a bacon & tomato sandwich with Duke' sounds great about now!

— Jeanine Gibbs

Almost a century after Eugenia Duke created her unique mayonnaise recipe, Duke’s is still made in Greenville, South Carolina. Mrs. Duke’s kitchen has been replaced by a modern production facility that turns out 240 jars of mayonnaise a minute, but the recipe for Duke’s Mayonnaise has remained the same. “We’ve never changed the formula,” explains Mark Sauer, vice president of sales for C. F. Sauer and great-grandson of Conrad Sauer, Sr., “not since Duke’s time.” Duke’s, he says, is a uniquely Southern product. “It was developed at a time when the South was still a distinctive place with a distinctive taste. And that hasn’t changed.” The formula for Duke’s includes more egg yolks than other brands of mayonnaise, he points out. It also has no added sugar. (It’s the only major brand of mayonnaise that can make that claim.) That combination gives the mayonnaise a tanginess Duke’s fans have come to love.

Traditionally, Duke’s market area has included northern Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. In recent years, the company has expanded into Alabama, Mississippi, Ohio, and Tennessee, as well. And now fans of Duke’s Mayonnaise have an alternative way to purchase their favorite spread. The mayonnaise is now available online at Duke’s Company Store. Soon, everyone will be crazy for this true Southern original.

— Excerpts courtesy of Betty Terry from “Taste of the South” Spring 2007