Maurice Grey, who was winning medals for his Dijon mustard machine in 1855, in 1860 was awarded a Royal Appointment for developing a machine that dramatically increased the speed of production of mustard. However, needing 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. In America, R. J. Reynolds acquired Heublein in 1982 and merged it with Nabisco in 1985 to form RJR Nabisco. In 1999, Kraft Foods acquired Nabisco, including the Grey Poupon brand. Grey Poupon Dijon and wholegrain mustard are still produced in France for the European and Canadian markets. Production of Grey Poupon for the American market moved to Holland, Michigan from Pennsylvania following Kraft Heinz's expansion of its 120-year-old Holland production facility.
Marketing
Advertising
Heublein increased the visibility and name recognition of their mustard brand with a 1980s 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!" The closing shot is of the Grey Poupon jar being passed between the vehicles. In one variation, the characters are on the Orient Express. The commercial spawned a number of variations, often comedic; a later 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. Another commercial included the introduction of a plastic squeeze bottle, wherein the bottle makes a flatulent noise, much to the mortification of the driver. 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. In 2013, Grey Poupon created a new advertisement, playing upon the 1980s commercial, displaying a duel between the driver who took the Grey Poupon Jar being chased down by the mustard's original owner. The spot was nominated for an Emmy for best commercial.
The "Pardon me, would you have any Grey Poupon?" commercials have been parodied in many films and TV shows, including Wayne's World, Married... with Childrens "Old Insurance Dodge", WWE SmackDown and Family Guy's "Blue Harvest". The question was asked by Michael J. Fox's character, while preparing to eat a frog dog in the film The Hard Way and by the Dutch character in the Emilio Estevez's film The Way. The Grey Poupon trade is also mentioned in the Direct-to-videoFuturama film Bender's Big Score and in episode 20 season 1 of the Parker LewisCan't Lose TV series. In the Aerosmith song "Eat the Rich," Steven Tyler sings to "Take that Grey Poupon, my friend and, shove it up your ass." The Grey Poupon name has appeared frequently in hip-hop and rap lyrics since 1992, when Das EFX mentioned the brand on their song "East Coast". Artists such as Kanye West, Big Sean, Jay Z, Kendrick Lamar, and T-Pain reference Grey Poupon on their songs because the brand is easy to rhyme and it illustrates the status of style, luxury, and class.
