Not Sauer anymore: Duke’s Mayo parent company rebrands in honor of Upstate-born condiment icon

Nearly a century after Richmond-based C.F. Sauer Co. acquired a homegrown mayonnaise recipe whipped up by a Greenville entrepreneur, the food giant has made a historic move: it has officially renamed the entire company after the jar.

Sauer Brands, Inc. announced that it is formally rebranding as the Duke’s Mayo Company, cementing what South Carolina residents have known for generations—Duke’s is far more than a condiment, it is a cultural powerhouse.

A Century-Long Corporate Inversion

The corporate name change marks a rare full-circle moment in American business history.

In 1917, Eugenia Duke began selling sandwiches slathered with her homemade, tangy mayonnaise to soldiers stationed at Camp Sevier in Greenville County. Her spread became so wildly popular that she began selling it by the jar. In 1929, she sold her recipe and mayonnaise business to the C.F. Sauer Company, a Richmond firm founded in 1887 that was best known for vanilla extracts and spices.

For the decades that followed, Sauer produced the mayonnaise across the South—including operating a flagship manufacturing plant off Brookfield Parkway in Mauldin, filling Upstate air with the spread’s unmistakable savory aroma.

Now, nearly 100 years later, the product has officially absorbed the parent company that bought it.

A Focused Push on High-Growth Condiments

The corporate rebrand follows a major shift in the company’s portfolio. Earlier this fall, the company agreed to sell its legacy spice and seasonings division—including Kernel Season’s, Spice Hunter, and the original Sauer’s spice lines—to The Watkins Company.

With the spice business divested, the company shifted to operate as a focused condiments business, driven by Duke’s Mayonnaise, Mateo’s Gourmet Salsa, and regional restaurant condiment lines.

“Duke’s Mayo Company is a name that says plainly what this company is about, which is a dedication to flavor and scaling high-growth condiments,” said Chief Executive Officer E. Yuri Hermida. “Leading with Duke’s gives us a name that carries that reputation into every conversation, across every brand we make and every kitchen we serve.”

While corporate headquarters remain in Richmond, Virginia, the company maintains operations, distribution, and manufacturing footprints across South Carolina and Kansas.

For dinner tables, sandwich counters, and tailgate spreads across the Upstate, the decision puts the name on the company’s front door where it has always been on the kitchen shelf: front and center.