![Maille Logo Black and Gold](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/Maille_Logo_Black_and_Gold.jpg)
Maille is a brand of
mustard
Mustard may refer to:
Food and plants
* Mustard (condiment), a paste or sauce made from mustard seeds used as a condiment
* Mustard plant, one of several plants, having seeds that are used for the condiment
** Mustard seed, seeds of the mustard p ...
s originated in
Marseille, France
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fran ...
, in 1723. As a subsidiary of multinational consumer goods company
Unilever
Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy dri ...
, which manufactures the mustard at plants globally, the company now also markets
cornichons, stoneware, salad dressings, kitchen gifts and
oils
An oil is any nonpolar chemical substance that is composed primarily of hydrocarbons and is hydrophobic (does not mix with water) & lipophilic (mixes with other oils). Oils are usually flammable and surface active. Most oils are unsaturate ...
under the ''Maille'' brand—in company stores, through global distribution agreements and online, since 2007.
Maison Maille, the brand, continues to market traditional
dijon mustard
Dijon mustard (french: Moutarde de Dijon) is a traditional mustard of France, named after the town of Dijon in Burgundy, France, which was the center of mustard making in the late Middle Ages and was granted exclusive rights in France in the 17 ...
and flavored variants through dedicated shops in
Dijon
Dijon (, , ) (dated)
* it, Digione
* la, Diviō or
* lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920.
The earlies ...
, London (2013), New York City (2014), Paris (2015), and Bordeaux (2015), as well as in-store concessions in Chicago, Portland, and San Francisco.
History
In 1747, Antoine-Claude Maille opened a boutique called La Maison Maille on the rue Saint-André des Arts in Paris and became official supplier to the court of Louis XV. His father, who shared his name and was also a vinegar-maker, had become famous during the 1720s for recommending the condiment as a plague treatment.
In 1760, Mr. Maille was named official supplier to the courts of Austria and Hungary. In 1769,
King Louis XVI
Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was e ...
granted him the license as “ordinary distiller-vinegar-maker” and two years later he was granted charter as distiller-vinegar-maker to
Empress Catherine II
, en, Catherine Alexeievna Romanova, link=yes
, house =
, father = Christian August, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst
, mother = Joanna Elisabeth of Holstein-Gottorp
, birth_date =
, birth_name = Princess Sophie of Anhal ...
of Russia.
Mr. Maille sold his business to his associate André-Arnoult Acloque in 1800 and died in 1804. His son Robert and Mr Alcoque's son Andre-Gabriel became business partners in 1819 and were appointed distillers to the King and sole suppliers to the house of
King Louis XVIII in 1821. Maille became vinegar-maker to
Charles X
Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Lou ...
in 1826, supplier to the King of England in 1830, and vinegar-maker to
King Louis-Philippe
Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France.
As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary Wa ...
in 1836. A Maille boutique opened in the Burgundy region in 1845.
In 1885, Maille was purchased by Maurice Grey of
Grey-Poupon.
In 1930, Maille was purchased by entrepreneur
Baron Philippe de Rothschild. The company's slogan, ''Que Maille qui m’aille'', or "Maille alone suits me", was created in 1931. In 1936, the brand advertised itself by spelling out the word ‘MAILLE’ in lights on Parisian rooftops. This scene was depicted in a cinema advert called ''Quand on n'en a pas''. These campaigns ended after the outbreak of the Second World War.
In 1952, Philippe de Rothschild sold the brand back to André Ricard and Joseph Poupon, deputy CEO of
Grey Poupon
Grey Poupon is a brand of 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 an ...
. Maille and Grey Poupon then joined forces and began marketing in supermarkets.
The company began producing Maille whisky glasses in 1988 and launched its trademark Fleur de Lys jar a year later. It started selling balsamic vinegar in 1991.
In 1996, the firm celebrated the 250th anniversary of the opening of its first store by opening a shop on the Place de la Madeleine in Paris. It sells packaged mustards, oils and vinegars as well as mustard straight from the pump.
Maille was sold to Paribas Affaires Industrielles in 1997 and was purchased by
Unilever
Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy dri ...
in 2000. In 2011, the company introduced a Dijon mustard with
Chablis
Chablis () is a town and commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France.
It lies in the valley of the River Serein.
Wine
The village of Chablis gives its name to one of the most famous French white wines ...
"1747", an aged balsamic vinegar and black truffle mustard.
Products
In 1937, Dijon was granted the right to an
Appellation Controlee, subjecting it to manufacturing regulations, and prescribing the method by which it may be called a
Dijon mustard
Dijon mustard (french: Moutarde de Dijon) is a traditional mustard of France, named after the town of Dijon in Burgundy, France, which was the center of mustard making in the late Middle Ages and was granted exclusive rights in France in the 17 ...
.
The company has produced condiments using other ingredients, including mango, red berries, tarragon and Cognac.
In 1996, Maille introduced limited-edition mustards delivered on tap from porcelain pumps, each based on a signature ingredient such as
Chablis
Chablis () is a town and commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France.
It lies in the valley of the River Serein.
Wine
The village of Chablis gives its name to one of the most famous French white wines ...
. They included a black truffle and Chablis mustard served in sandstone jars.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maille (Company)
Mustard brands
Unilever brands