By SARAH SKIDMORE SELL and TALI ARBEL

Associated Press

Hellman's mayonnaise maker Unilever has withdrawn its lawsuit against the maker of "Just Mayo."

Unilever filed suit against Hampton Creek earlier this year claiming the name of the small California company's product amounted to false advertising.

The consumer-products giant, whose U.S. arm is based in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, had said that "Just Mayo" has no eggs and therefore doesn't meet the definition of mayonnaise. It argued that the word "mayo" implies that the product is mayonnaise, and that Hampton Creek was stealing market share from Hellman's.

Hampton Creek has said that it marketed its product as "mayo" rather than mayonnaise specifically to meet labeling regulations.

FILE - In this Dec. 3, 2013 file photo, Hampton Creek CEO and Founder Josh Tetrick poses with a bowl of a species of yellow pea used to make Just Mayo, a plant-based mayonnaise, at Hampton Creek Foods in San Francisco. (Eric Risberg/AP photo)

Unilever said Thursday that it decided to withdraw the lawsuit so that Hampton Creek can address its label directly with industry groups and regulatory authorities.

Hampton Creek has had "positive conversations" with industry groups and government officials, said the San Francisco-based company's CEO, Josh Tetrick. He said that Hampton Creek may make the word "just" larger on the label but has no plans to change the product's name or its labeling.

Just Mayo's label states that it doesn't contain eggs. The label features a white egg with a plant growing in front, which Tetrick has said is the company's way of showing that they use plants instead of chicken eggs.

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Unilever drops lawsuit against vegan 'mayo'