Think ketchup reigns supreme when it comes to America’s favorite condiment? Well, time to shatter your reality. Pulling data from Euromonitor, Quartz graphed the growth of ketchup, mayonnaise, soy sauce , barbecue sauce, mustard and steak sauce markets from 2000 to 2013.
The verdict: The US consumes $2 billion worth of mayo each year, while the ketchup market is worth around $800 million — less than half of mayo’s. Soy sauce follows close behind ketchup at $725 million last year, with barbecue sauce coming in at $660 million. Mustard’s market, on the other hand, has been shrinking since 2009 and falls slightly under $450 million.
It’s worth it to note that while hot sauce is valued at $550 million, it’s grown by 150 percent since 2000 — more than ketchup, mayonnaise, barbecue sauce and mustard combined. As Quartz points out, “Hot sauce is having more than just a moment; it’s having a decade.”
A lot of the love is due to America’s rising immigrant population. The influx of Asians and Latinos has made spicy dishes more commonplace and has helped fuel the US’ current obsession with sauces like Sriracha and Tabasco (please refer to the great Tabasco vs Sriracha debate).
Naturally, the rising popularity of hot wings have also played a big part: Americans consume a whopping 25 billion chicken wings per year. “Sriracha, Tabasco, and Frank’s Red Hot, in particular, have really benefited from that,” Matt Hudak, Euromonitor’s US food industry expert, explained.
Charts via Quartz
13 replies on “Mayonnaise Dethrones Ketchup as Most Popular Condiment”
Unfair! Mayo is an ingredient rather than a condiment more often and in greater quantities than ketchup.
True, as it’s used to make potato and other salads and even some baked dishes call for mayo. But it’s still, technically, considered a condiment.
Hooray! No wonder people in the US have that obesity thing going on. Oil and eggs, jeez!
Oh come on, that’s a ridiculous statement. You can eat mayo, in moderation, and still have a fairly healthy diet. One food alone isn’t the cause of obesity. An excess of calories – consuming more calories than you burn – is what causes obesity.
Oh yeah, so many mayo-eating-people are burning off the calories…
Sure, why not? I do. Putting a thin layer of mayo on a sandwich is, I can pretty much guarantee, less calories than even a salad. I don’t get where you think mayo (there *are* light and fat-free versions, ya know) is this evil, horrible food that’s going to pile on the pounds if you eat it every day. Everything has calories. That delicious salad you love with the light or lowfat dressing? Guess what? It’s more calories than a tablespoon of mayonnaise.
Just because people eat mayonnaise, it doesn’t mean they don’t care about their health. Any food can be part of a healthy diet. All things in moderation, that’s the key.
Do you eat chocolate on occasion? Or maybe get a hankerin’ for the occasional burger? I know I do. I also love fried chicken and I eat it once in a while. But I limit fatty foods, I don’t eat them on a regular basis. But the occasional piece of chocolate or pizza or the occasional burger isn’t going to kill you and it’s not going to make you gain 50 pounds overnight.
Because all Dutch & Belgian people are obese right?
It all depends on how much you eat & how much you do in a day.
Can you really say that Mayo has surpassed Ketchup as the most popular ingredient only using price? It should be a comparison of the quantity sold, as the ingredients of Mayo are more expensive than the ingredients of Ketchup and other of the condiments listed here, their price and total sale will be higher than of ketchup and the other ingredients listed here with lower prices per unit.
Probably because mayonnaise is actually good, unlike that watered down tomato paste crap.
Kraft Mayo sucks. Hellman’s is better. Kraft, in my opinion, doesn’t even taste like mayonnaise.
Not that that has anything to do with the price of tea in China, LOL
It’s all about Belgian mayo.
That stuff is amazing & belongs on fries (not ketchup) imo.
eww…mayo. but i agree with what is said below, mayo is used more as an ingredient in other dishes so as a condiment it may not necessarily be on top.
also if its determined by price alone then mayo is far more expensive, a lot of stores sell unbranded ketchup for like 60p a bottle.