Grey Poupon

Grey Poupon is a global brand of Dijon style mustard which originated in Dijon, France in 1777.[1] Grey Poupon began mass production in 1866.[2] In Europe Grey Poupon is imported from France.

The U.S. rights to the brand were acquired by the Heublein Company in 1946, later passing on to Kraft Foods. Grey Poupon became popular in the United States in the late 1970s and 1980s as American tastes broadened from conventional American yellow mustards, aided in large part by a memorable advertising campaign emphasizing the product's association with luxury.

Like other Dijon mustards, Grey Poupon contains a small amount of white wine. The American version is made with brown mustard seed grown in Canada.[3]

History

In 1860 Maurice Grey (b.

Marketing

Advertising

Heublein increased the visibility and name recognition of their mustard brand with a 1981 commercial pointing out that "one can enjoy the finer things of life with white wine mustard without paying high prices", in which a Rolls-Royce pulls up alongside another Rolls-Royce, and a passenger in one asks "Pardon me, would you have any Grey Poupon?" The other responds, "But of course!", followed by the jar of Grey Poupon being passed between the vehicles. In one variation, the characters are on the Orient Express.[13]

The commercial spawned a number of variations, often comedic; a 1991 version features Ian Richardson asking Paul Eddington if he has any Grey Poupon, to which Eddington replies, "But of course", then motions for his driver to speed away. It is implied that they are playing the roles of the fictitious British Prime Ministers Francis Urquhart (from House of Cards) and Jim Hacker (from Yes, Prime Minister), respectively.[14][15] Another commercial included the introduction of a plastic squeeze bottle, wherein the bottle makes a flatulent noise, much to the mortification of the driver.[16]

The advertising campaign helped solidify Grey Poupon's status as a product associated with the wealthy; in 1992, Grey Poupon had the strongest correlation between a person's income and whether or not they used the product.[17]

In 2013, Grey Poupon created a new advertisement, playing upon the 1980s commercial, an action movie spoof where the driver who took the Grey Poupon jar (played by British actor Frazer Douglas) is chased down by the mustard's original owner (played by American actor Rod McCary).[18][19] The spot was nominated for an Emmy for best commercial.[20]

Brand extensions

In 2007, Kraft introduced three new specialty mustards under the Grey Poupon brand: a coarse-ground mustard with whole mustard seeds, a spicy brown mustard with diced yellow onions, and a honey mustard with clover honey and spices. Only the coarse ground version remains in production.

type	Mustard
currentowner	Associated British Foods (UK & Europe) Kraft Heinz (US)
producedby	Kraft Foods
origin	Dijon, France
introduced	1866
markets	Worldwide
previousowners	* Grey Poupon * Heublein Inc. * RJR Nabisco * Kraft Foods * Maille * Unilever (UK)
website	greypouponmustard.com

History

Marketing

Advertising

Brand extensions

In popular culture

See also

External links

References