Popular Japanese mayo brand settles score on name pronunciation

February 3, 2023 - 1:08 PM
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Kewpie-feb-2023
A zoomed-in version of a picture uploaded on Kewpie Philippines' Facebook page on July 9, 2018 (KewpiePhilippines/Facebook)

A Japanese mayonnaise brand settled the score about the actual pronunciation of its name in an infographic inspired by a meme template.

“Start the year right, by pronouncing Kewpie RIGHT!” Kewpie Philippines said on Wednesday with a grinning squinting face emoji.

It was accompanied by an infographic inspired by a meme template featuring Canadian hip-hop artist Drake in his music video “Hotline Bling,” where he was seen dancing and doing gestures.

One of his poses included him holding his hand up to the side of his face while sporting what appeared to be a disgusted expression.

Internet users eventually turned it into a reaction image and a meme.

Kewpie did its own version of the Drake meme by sharing a picture of a girl shrugging off “people who pronounce its brand name as ‘Kew-pay'” and being impressed with “people who pronounce it as ‘Q-P.”

The post has earned 6,300 likes and reactions, 2,500 shares and over 1,200 comments on Facebook so far.

Some of the Filipinos’ reactions include:

“~ah basta, Kewpay pa rin yan, Kewpay!” a Facebook user commented.

“iI’s silent w… Ke-pie,” another online user wrote.

“Kiwipay, mas ok,” commented a different Pinoy on Facebook.

In 2020, the Japanese brand released a video guide on how to pronounce its name.

The Kewpie brand is famous for its Japanese-style mayonnaise which consists of oil, vinegar and egg yolks responsible for its sour taste and rich texture.

It also comes in a reduced fat variant and a sweet style variant.

Other products of the brand are its tartar sauce, the Kewpie chili sauce and mayonnaise, roasted sesame dressing, Caesar dressing, spicy cheese dressing, sesame soy sauce dressing and thousand island dressing.

It also offers baby food and pasta noodles with Kewpie sauce.