Southern icon Duke’s Mayo gets a Northern owner as Charlotte firm reaches brands deal

The more than century old Southern condiment staple Duke’s Mayonnaise has a new owner again — and this one’s from the North.

Advent International, a private equity investor based in Boston, has reached an agreement to acquire Sauer Brands Inc. from Charlotte-based Falfurrias Capital Partners. Terms of the deal were not disclosed, Advent said Monday.

On Friday, five gallons of the popular mayo was dumped over coach PJ Fleck of Minnesota after winning the Duke’s Mayo Bowl college football game at Bank of America Stadium. Grammy-nominated hip-hop artist Flavor Flav surprised fans by donning the costume of the Duke’s Mayo Bowl mascot, Tubby, and wearing a shirt saying: “It’s Mayo Time.”

About Duke’s Mayo

Duke’s Mayo was founded in 1917 by Eugenia Duke in Greenville, S.C.

In 2019, Falfurrias acquired condiment, sauce and spice manufacturer Sauer Brands, known for its Duke’s mayonnaise brand. Other brands include Mateo’s Gourmet Salsa and Kernel Season’s. Terms of that deal also were undisclosed.

Falfurrias Capital Partners and Sauer Brands’ collaboration has pushed Duke’s to become one of the fastest-growing mayonnaise brands, Falfurrias partner Chip Johnson said in a statement.

“Despite its long history, we believe that the company is still in the early innings of growth,” Tricia Glynn, a managing partner at Advent International, said in a statement.

Advent investments have included Sovos Brands, which sold to The Campbell’s Co., and Grupo CRM, which sold to Nestlé.

Falfurrias was founded in 2006 by Marc Oken, former CFO of Bank of America; Hugh McColl Jr., former chairman and CEO of Bank of America; and Ed McMahan, former principal at Chicago Growth Partners.