Grey Poupon

Grey Poupon is a brand of whole-grain mustard and Dijon mustard which originated in Dijon, France.

The U.S. rights to the brand were acquired by the Heublein Company, 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.

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.

History

Maurice Grey was winning medals for his Dijon mustard machine in 1855. In 1860, he was awarded a Royal Appointment. He had developed a machine that dramatically increased the speed of production, but he needed financing, which he obtained in 1866 from Auguste Poupon, another Dijon mustard manufacturer. The Grey Poupon partnership produced their first mustard around 1866 in Dijon, France.

In 1946, the Heublein Company bought the American rights from the original company.

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.