Fancy That Friday – Regional Differences

Thanks to a comment on last week’s Fancy That Friday post by Goslyn, I bring you the subject of this week’s Fancy That Friday: Regional Differences.

There are many of course, but I’m going to focus on those at the grocery store today. Did you know that some of your favorite brand names change their brand names when they cross the Rockies? I don’t have a good reason for why this occurs. I just know it happens.

I had been an East Coast girl my whole life until I started college in Utah. On my first trip to a western super market, I was confused when looking for my Hellmann’s mayonnaise. How could they not sell Hellmann’s in Utah? It’s the best! Well apparently, they think so too. After hearing a commercial on TV with the jingle “Bring out the Best Foods and bring out the best” (same jingle Hellmann’s uses in the East only insert Hellmann’s for Best Foods), I decided to try the Best Foods brand at the store.

Sure enough, right on its packaging were the words “Known as Hellmann’s east of the Rockies.” In the East, Hellmann’s mayonnaise sports the same phrase on its package only subbing Best Foods and west. (Both state this on their respective websites as well).

And if you’re looking for Edy’s ice cream out West, don’t bother. It sports the name Dreyer’s west of the Rockies (their respective packages carry labeling that points out the name swap as Hellmann’s/Best Foods does). It should be noted however that in either case the packaging stays the same. Only the name chances.

But just in case you thought you were getting the hang of this whole regional swap thing, here’s another…

Don’t let the butter differences from coast to coast mess with your sense of reality either. Apparently, West Coast butter is shorter and wider and usually packaged two on top of two while East Coast butter is longer and skinnier and usually comes packaged four in a row. And for whatever reason, they’re different on purpose.

But here’s what I can’t figure out…

I’ve never been good at geography, but as far as I can determine the Rockies are west of Texas (or Texas is west of the Rockies, depending on your world view). I would therefore expect East Coast or East of the Rockies brand names and packaging. Not so. My mayonnaise is the eastern Hellmann’s, but my ice cream is western Dreyer’s (maybe the ice cream doesn’t matter though, as I’ve been told that if you don’t eat Blue Bell you’re just not Texan). And for kick and giggles, my butter is now long skinny eastern packaged two by two western-style. Texas. It’s like a whole other country!

Now it’s your turn. What differences have you noticed as you’ve traversed this great country of ours coast to coast?