A1 Steak Sauce

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A1 is a steak sauce, and condiment for use with meat or game dishes.

A1 was introduced to the US by G.F. Heublein & Brothers, and was officially registered as a trademark in North America in 1895.

1 History and ownership
2 Variations
3 Legal Action
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] History and ownership

The original steak sauce upon which A1 is based was created in 1824 by Henderson William Brand, chef to King George IV of the United Kingdom. It went into commercial production under the Brand & Co. label in 1831 and continued in production under the this label after bankruptcy forced ownership of Brand & Co. to be transferred to W H Withall in 1850. It was renamed A1 in 1873, after a trademark dispute between creator Henderson William Brand and Dence and Mason, who had since since purchased Brand & Co from Withall. It was then introduced to the US under the ownership of G.F. Heublein & Brothers.

Ownership of A1 passed to R.J. Reynolds in 1982, after it merged with Heublein & Brothers, and then to Nabisco Brands, Inc after it merged with Reynolds in 1985.

Nabisco was purchased by Philip Morris in 2000 who retain ownership, and A1 is currently being manufactured by Kraft Foods, which is part of the Philip Morris's holdings.

[edit] Variations

A1 has undergone a number of revisions since its initial inception. The most recent of which were the removal of anchovies from the recipe during the 1990s, and the subsequent introduction of high fructose corn syrup.

Six variations are currently in production, including the A1 original, and A1 "Zesty"; which contains onions, green peppers and jalapeño peppers.

[edit] Legal Action

A1 was the subject of a trademark dispute between then owners Nabisco and “Arnie’s Deli”, which was producing its own recipe condiment under the name “A2 Sauce”.

In 1991, Connecticut District Court found in favor of Nabisco.