Meet the New Bae, Same as the Old Bay
“ Old Bay has a new wannabe rival, and the company that produces the iconic seafood seasoning is not amused. Spice titan McCormick is suing the maker of “New Bae” spice blend in a Maryland federal court, Bloomberg reports, claiming that the dubiously named newcomer is causing consumer confusion and tarnishing Old Bay’s reputation.”
Full disclosure: Old Bay is a staple on my shelf and has been since my days at Washington D.C.’s Tabard Inn. McCormick has been cagey about the “spices” contained therein, but New Bae opted for “full transparency”: Himalayan pink salt, paprika, celery, black pepper, ancho chili powder, cayenne, cardamom, allspice, mace, bay leaves. I could care less about the Himalayan pink salt, and wish they would specify the provenance of the paprika, but the rest of the blend looks spot on. The mace wouldn’t have occurred to me.