Grey Poupon

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Grey Poupon is a brand of Dijon-style mustard originally owned and marketed in the U.S. by the Heublein Company and now owned and manufactured by Kraft Foods. Like other Dijon mustards, Grey Poupon contains a small amount of white wine, and uses brown mustard seed grown in Canada. The wine used is produced in upstate New York under the supervision of a rabbi, to ensure that the product maintains its kosher status. Grey Poupon became a popular mustard in the late 1970s and 1980s as American tastes broadened from the comparatively bland American yellow mustards.

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[edit] History

Grey-Poupon was formed in 1777 in Dijon, France, when Maurice Grey made his associate, Auguste Poupon, a partner in what had hitherto been the Maison de Grey. In 1970, the directors of Grey-Poupon and of another Dijon mustard firm, André Ricard, having earlier bought the popular Maille-label, formed a conglomerate called S.E.G.M.A. Maille. Soon afterwards, the new company decided to phase out the Grey-Poupon label in France. It is still, however, manufactured for export, and a small amount continues to be produced for sale at the historic Maille-Grey-Poupon boutique on the Rue de la Liberté in Dijon itself. In 1946 the Heublein Company bought the American rights from the original company — and though it is prominently labeled as a Dijon mustard, Grey-Poupon is now made by Kraft Foods.

[edit] Marketing mustard

Currently the best-selling Dijon-style mustard in the United States[citation needed]. Heublein increased the visibility and name recognition of their mustard brand with a 1980s commercial in which a Rolls Royce pulls up alongside another Rolls Royce, and a passenger in one (played by Ian Richardson) asks a passenger in the other (Paul Eddington), "Pardon me, would you have any Grey Poupon?"

The PBS show America's Test Kitchen praised Grey Poupon for having a date stamp, a feature not found on other national brands of dijon-style mustard, for freshness (Episode 620). This may have been an example of product placement, and is of dubious benefit as mustard is a naturally preserved condiment and sulfiting chemicals are added as an additional safeguard.

In 2007, Grey Poupon/Kraft company introduced three new specialty mustards: 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.

[edit] Mentions in popular culture

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[edit] Film and Television

The commercial has been satirized in:

[edit] Politics

Representative Duke Cunningham, Republican of California, proclaimed "I took the Grey Poupon out of my cupboard" on the floor of the House denouncing French opposition to the Iraq war (March 5, 2003). The move was of questionable symbolic value, since Grey Poupon is a product of Kraft Foods, an American company.

[edit] Music

Jim Jones, in his song We Fly High, mentions Grey Poupon. Lil' Wayne, in his song Boom off of his mixtape Da Drought 3 also mentions Grey Poupon. Grey Poupon is mentioned by Jim Jones again, in the remix of "Two Step". Grey Poupon is also mentioned in the lyrics to the Aerosmith song Eat The Rich. In the MF Doom song Raedawn; Kanye West in the Common song "southside" on Common's album Finding Forever says, "people askin me do you have any Grey Poupon?"; and Nelly also mentions on T.I.'s CD T.I. vs T.I.P. when he says, "Yea you rollin' wit the King and the one, Country black folk in the Chevy passin' Grey Poupon." Rapper DMX has a line in his song "We In Here" featuring Swizz Beatz in which he refers to riding alongside a vehicle and not because he is asking about Grey Poupon. Joe Budden also makes a similar reference in his freestyle "Heartbeatology", in which he disses G Unit. It is also mentioned in rapper Big Daddy Kane's song Brooklyn Style...Laid Out. Also mentioned by Kanye West during Common's song "Southside" off of his 2007 album "Finding Forever".

And also by Weird Al Yankovic in his song Genius in France

[edit] See also

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