Over the past month, several restaurants in Philadelphia have been perplexed by unsolicited deliveries of 600 tubs of Heluva Good! brand French onion dip. The first incident occurred on March 5 at Mac Mart’s MAC’n Cheesery food stand, where owner Marti Lieberman received a pallet of the dip without ordering it.
Lieberman told the Philadelphia Inquirer she tried to refuse the shipment but was unsuccessful. After posting about the dip on Instagram, Heluva Good! instructed her to dispose of it, stating they did not know its origin. Subsequently, other eateries including All Day Hoagies and Ice Cream and Ed’s Buffalo Wings and Pizza reported similar deliveries.
All Day Hoagies discarded their dip after the brand’s advice, though employees noted it tasted normal. Ed’s Buffalo Wings gave their two shipments to customers. Heluva Good!, owned by HP Hood LLC, said in a statement that a third-party promotion caused the mix-up and that they are investigating.
Some businesses were contacted beforehand by sampling company Brandshare and Geezy. Puglia Pizza Philly received a pallet four days before the Super Bowl and offered free tubs with online orders. Co-owner Heather Tricarico said, “We made the best out of a Heluva Good! situation.”
Other restaurants, like Fox & Son Foods, ignored sketchy emails about free samples. Meanwhile, Mac Mart announced it would introduce French Onion Mac & Cheese options, moving on from what they called “Dip Gate 2026.”
