Grey Poupon facts for kids
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| Type | Mustard |
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| Owner | Kraft Heinz (World) Associated British Foods (UK) |
| Country | Dijon, France |
| Introduced | 1866 |
| Markets | Worldwide |
| Previous owners |
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Grey Poupon is a famous brand of Dijon mustard. It first started in Dijon, France, way back in 1866.
An American company called Heublein bought the rights to sell Grey Poupon in the U.S. in 1946. Later, Kraft Foods took over the brand. Grey Poupon became very popular in the United States during the late 1970s and 1980s. This happened as people started to like different kinds of mustards, not just the usual yellow ones. A famous TV advertisement helped a lot by showing Grey Poupon as a fancy, high-class product.
Just like other Dijon mustards, Grey Poupon has a tiny bit of white wine in it. The version sold in America is made with brown mustard seeds grown in Canada.
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The Story of Grey Poupon
A mustard maker named Maurice Grey lived in Dijon, France. In 1860, he invented a machine that made mustard much faster. Because of his invention, he received a special award from the royal family.
In 1866, Maurice Grey teamed up with another mustard maker from Dijon, Auguste Poupon. They joined forces to use Grey's new machine. This partnership created the Grey-Poupon company.
In 1946, an American company called Heublein bought the rights to sell Grey Poupon in the United States. This meant they could make and sell the mustard there.
Over the years, the ownership of Grey Poupon changed a few times. In 1982, R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company bought Heublein. Later, in 1999, Kraft Foods bought Nabisco, which included the Grey Poupon brand.
For European markets, Grey Poupon Dijon and wholegrain mustard are still made in France. However, the Grey Poupon for the American market is now made in Holland, Michigan. This happened after Kraft Heinz expanded its factory there.
How Grey Poupon Was Advertised
Famous Commercials
Heublein wanted more people to know about Grey Poupon. So, in 1981, they made a very memorable TV commercial. It showed that you could enjoy fancy things, like white wine mustard, without spending a lot of money.
In the commercial, one Rolls-Royce car pulls up next to another. A person in one car asks, "Pardon me, would you have any Grey Poupon?" The other person replies, "But of course!" Then, a jar of Grey Poupon is passed between the two fancy cars. In another version, the characters were on a famous train called the Orient Express.
This commercial became very popular and led to many funny versions. The advertising campaign helped make Grey Poupon seem like a product for wealthy people. By 1992, Grey Poupon was strongly linked to people with higher incomes.
In 2013, Grey Poupon made a new advertisement that was a funny action movie spoof. It was based on the original 1980s commercial.
Different Kinds of Mustard
In 2007, Kraft introduced some new types of mustard under the Grey Poupon name. These included a coarse-ground mustard with whole seeds and a spicy brown mustard. They also made a honey mustard with clover honey. Today, only the coarse ground version is still made.
See also
