Hampton Creek CEO Says Feds End Inquiries Into Mayo Buybacks
- SEC and Justice Department didn’t find wrongdoing, CEO says
- Food startup told workers to secretly buy products from stores
Jars of Hampton Creek Inc. Just Mayo brand egg-less mayonnaise in Tiskilwa, Illinois, on Aug. 16, 2016.
Photographer: Daniel Acker/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The U.S. has closed inquiries into Hampton Creek Inc.’s practices of buying back its own products from stores, Chief Executive Officer Josh Tetrick told employees.
The Securities and Exchange Commission and Justice Department didn’t find wrongdoing in their inquiries, Tetrick wrote in a staff memo seen by Bloomberg. The probes were opened after Bloomberg reported in August that the San Francisco-based startup had bought back large quantities of its vegan mayonnaise from supermarkets, which made the products appear more popular than they were.