What Is Sir Kensington's Fabanaise?
Sir Kensington's is a condiment brand founded in 2010 by Mark Ramadan and Scott Norton, originally built on a "small-batch, classic" positioning for ketchup and mayo. Unilever acquired the company in 2017 and has kept it running as a standalone premium brand rather than folding it into Hellmann's. Fabanaise is Sir Kensington's egg-free mayo, sold today simply as "Vegan Mayo" on the label, and it's the product that lets the company claim its mayo lineup covers both traditional (egg-based) and plant-based shoppers under one name.
The name "Fabanaise" is a mashup of "fava" and "mayonnaise," referencing aquafaba — the starchy liquid left over from cooking legumes — which stands in for egg as the emulsifier. It's sold in Classic, Chipotle, and other flavor variants, typically in 12 oz or 16 oz jars, shelved alongside the brand's standard egg-based mayo rather than in a separate "free-from" section, which is worth noting since the packaging looks similar enough that it's easy to grab the wrong jar if you're not checking labels.
Ingredients
The ingredient list for Fabanaise Vegan Mayo is short by mayo standards: sunflower oil, organic aquafaba (water, chickpeas), distilled vinegar, salt, organic lemon juice, organic kombu seaweed, and white pepper. That's it — no eggs, no dairy, no soy, and no modified starches, which the brand highlights since a lot of vegan mayo competitors lean on soy protein or starch-based thickeners to replace the texture eggs normally provide.
The aquafaba does the same emulsifying job an egg yolk does in traditional mayo — its proteins and starches trap the oil into a stable, creamy suspension. Kombu seaweed is an unusual but deliberate addition here; it contributes a mild umami note that's likely compensating for the savory depth egg yolk normally contributes, similar to why several other reformulated vegan condiments lean on seaweed or nutritional yeast for the same reason.
The Story Behind Fabanaise
Sir Kensington's built its early reputation on a deliberately old-fashioned, "small-batch" aesthetic — glass jars, a fictional "Sir Kensington" backstory, and a marketing push around using whole ingredients instead of the corn syrup and preservatives found in mass-market ketchup and mayo. That positioning is part of why Unilever, which already owns Hellmann's, bought the company in 2017 rather than building a competing premium line from scratch: Sir Kensington's had already built credibility with a shopper who reads labels closely, which happens to be the same shopper most likely to care whether a mayo is egg-based or vegan.
Fabanaise launched as the company's answer to a straightforward problem: traditional mayo can't be made vegan just by swapping the oil, because the emulsion depends on egg yolk's proteins to hold together. Rather than falling back on soy protein isolate or modified starch — the two most common industrial fixes — Sir Kensington's built its vegan formula around aquafaba, leaning into the same ingredient home cooks had already been using to make vegan meringue and mousse for years. That choice is part of why the ingredient label reads shorter and more recognizable than a lot of the competition.
Is Sir Kensington's Fabanaise Vegan?
Yes — Fabanaise Vegan Mayo is fully vegan. There's no egg, dairy, honey, or other animal-derived ingredient anywhere in the formula, and the product carries Certified Vegan labeling on the jar. The one thing to watch for is the brand name confusion: Sir Kensington's also sells a "Classic Mayonnaise" made with Certified Humane free-range eggs, and both products often sit on the same shelf with similar jar shapes and color schemes. If you're shopping quickly, double-check that the label says "Vegan Mayo" specifically — the standard Sir Kensington's mayo is not vegan, egg-free, or plant-based despite the brand's overall premium, "clean label" image. When in doubt, run the exact SKU through the spvegan.com ingredient checker before checkout.
Nutrition Comparison
Fabanaise sits closer to full-fat traditional mayo in calories than some of the lighter vegan options on the market, since it's still primarily an oil-based product. Here's how a tablespoon compares to two widely available vegan competitors:
| Product | Serving Size | Calories | Total Fat | Sat. Fat | Carbs | Sodium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sir Kensington's Fabanaise Vegan Mayo | 1 tbsp (14g) | 90 | 10g | 1g | 0g | 80mg |
| Hellmann's Plant Based Mayo | 1 tbsp (14g) | 70 | 8g | 0.5g | 0.5g | 100mg |
| Just Mayo (Eat Just) | 1 tbsp | 60 | 6g | 0g | 1g | 95mg |
Fabanaise runs the highest in calories and fat of the three, largely because it leans on sunflower oil without diluting the formula the way some competitors do. It's also the lowest in sodium of the group. None of these differences are dramatic — a tablespoon of any of the three fits comfortably into a normal condiment portion — but if you're tracking macros closely, Just Mayo is the lighter pick and Fabanaise is the richer one.
Taste and Texture
This is where Fabanaise tends to separate itself from cheaper vegan mayo. The texture is notably thick and glossy, closer to a traditional full-fat mayo than the thinner, slightly gelatinous consistency some soy-based or starch-thickened vegan mayos have. The aquafaba emulsion holds up well when whisked into dressings or spread thickly on a sandwich without breaking or weeping oil, which is a common failure point for cheaper egg-free mayo.
Flavor-wise, it reads tangier and more acidic than Hellmann's Plant Based Mayo, with the lemon juice and vinegar more upfront, and a faint savory note from the kombu that most tasters register as "rounding out" the flavor rather than tasting distinctly of seaweed. It's not a neutral, invisible mayo — if you want something that disappears into a dish, Just Mayo's milder profile is closer to that. If you want a mayo with actual character, Fabanaise leans that direction.
How to Use Fabanaise
Because the texture holds up better than thinner vegan mayo, Fabanaise works in more applications than just a sandwich spread. It whisks smoothly into a vegan aioli with garlic and lemon, holds together in a classic potato or pasta salad without weeping oil after a day in the fridge, and works as the base for a quick vegan ranch or tartar sauce since its tangy profile already does some of the seasoning work for you. It's shelf-stable unopened, like most commercial mayo, but should be refrigerated after opening and used within the window printed on the jar — check the date code rather than assuming a fixed number of weeks, since packaging and formulation can change between production runs.
Price and Value
Sir Kensington's products, including Fabanaise, are consistently positioned and priced as a premium condiment rather than a value option — expect to pay noticeably more per ounce than a mainstream jar of Hellmann's or a store-brand vegan mayo. Whether that premium is worth it comes down to what you're optimizing for: if a shorter ingredient list, soy-free formulation, and closer-to-traditional texture matter to you, the price difference is defensible. If you're mostly looking for an inexpensive everyday sandwich spread, a budget vegan mayo or Just Mayo will do the job for less.
Sir Kensington's Fabanaise vs. the Alternatives
| Brand | Egg Replacer | Texture | Flavor Profile | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sir Kensington's Fabanaise | Chickpea aquafaba | Thick, glossy | Tangy, umami-forward | Sandwiches, dips, anyone who wants real mayo texture |
| Hellmann's Plant Based Mayo | Modified food starch | Smooth, slightly thinner | Mild, close to classic Hellmann's | Anyone replacing regular Hellmann's 1:1 |
| Just Mayo | Pea protein | Soft, spreadable | Neutral, mildly sweet | Baking, budget-friendly everyday use |
Fabanaise vs. Vegenaise
Follow Your Heart's Vegenaise is the other long-standing name in vegan mayo, and it takes a different approach entirely — it's built on pea protein and soy-free grapeseed or expeller-pressed canola oil rather than aquafaba, and it's been on shelves since long before "vegan mayo" was a mainstream grocery category. Texture-wise, Vegenaise tends to run slightly looser and tangier-sweet compared to Fabanaise's thicker, more savory profile. Neither is objectively better; it comes down to preference. If you already know you like Vegenaise's flavor, there's no strong reason to switch. If you've found Vegenaise a little thin or sweet for your taste, Fabanaise is worth trying as the thicker, more savory alternative.
Who Should Buy Fabanaise
Fabanaise is a good fit if you've been unimpressed by thinner vegan mayo and want something closer to the mouthfeel of a full-fat, egg-based mayo — it holds up well in potato salad, aioli-style dips, and sandwiches without going watery. It's also a solid pick for anyone avoiding soy specifically, since the ingredient list skips soy protein entirely, which several competing vegan mayo brands rely on. It's less of a fit if you're looking for the cheapest option in the aisle or a completely neutral flavor base for baking, where Just Mayo's milder profile and lower price point are the better match.
Final Verdict
Sir Kensington's Fabanaise delivers a genuinely close approximation of traditional mayo texture using a short, recognizable ingredient list, and it's unambiguously and reliably vegan when you're buying the correctly labeled jar. The main friction point isn't the product itself — it's that Sir Kensington's sells both egg-based and vegan mayo under the same brand and similar packaging, so the burden is on the shopper to read the label every time rather than trust the brand name alone.
Rating: 8/10 — one of the better-tasting vegan mayo options on the shelf, with a small tax on your attention at checkout.
