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Sir Kensington's

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Sir Kensington’s
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryFood processing
Founded2010
FoundersMark Ramadan
Scott Norton
FateAcquired by Unilever
Headquarters
New York City, New York
,
United States
Area served
North America
Key people
Mark Ramadan (CEO)
Scott Norton (co-founder)
ProductsKetchup, Mayonnaise, Mustard, "Fabanaise" (Vegan Mayonnaise)
Websitewww.sirkensingtons.com

Sir Kensington’s is an American food company with headquarters in New York City, New York. It was founded by Mark Ramadan and Scott Norton in 2010.[1][2] The company produces Non-GMO Project Verified condiments including ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise and "Fabanaise", a vegan mayo.[3]

On April 20, 2017, Unilever announced its acquisition of Sir Kensington's. The company remains independently led and managed as a wholly owned subsidiary.[4][5][6]

Brand origins

Sir Kensington’s Ketchup was first created in 2008 while founders Scott Norton and Mark Ramadan were attending Brown University.[7][8] After two years of development, the product was commercially launched featuring less sugar and salt than ordinary ketchup, and no high fructose corn syrup.[9] The brand is named after a fictitious British merchant, who they created as a mascot to represent the company’s "quirky sensibility".[10] In an interview with Bond Street, Ramadan said, "Sir Kensington was the character we created that reflected the never-ending search for something better. By making him British, it was sort of tongue-in-cheek, in that Americans look to the British for fancy things like high tea and scones."[11]

In May 2010, Ramadan and Norton launched the company and their first product was ketchup. In that year, Sir Kensington's sold 10,000 jars to its customers including Dean & DeLuca and Williams-Sonoma.[8] Since then, Sir Kensington’s has expanded to offer Non-GMO Project Verified and USDA-Certified Organic products including mayonnaise, mustard, and vegan mayo.[12] The company financed its early growth by raising $8.5 million from a Belgian private equity firm named Verlinvest and other individual investors.[13]

Products

In 2010, Sir Kensington's launched its first product, ketchup. The product is more textured than ordinary ketchup owing to the use of whole tomatoes in the recipe. The ketchup is packaged in glass and plastic bottles of various sizes. In the United States, the glass bottle is commonly used by restaurants. It offers two ketchup varieties known as "Classic" and "Spicy".

Sir Kensington's introduced mayonnaise in May 2013. Currently, it produces mayonnaise in Classic, Avocado Oil, Organic, Sriracha, Chipotle, Special Sauce, and Dijonaise varieties.[14] It also offers mustard in Spicy Brown, Dijon and Yellow varieties.

In 2016, the company launched "Fabanaise", a vegan mayo, made with a natural egg replacement, called aquafaba. Aquafaba is the brine water that naturally occurs when cooking chickpeas. For years, vegan food bloggers and home chefs have been raving about this protein-rich ingredient and its ability to foam and perform just like egg whites.[15]

Awards and recognition

Sir Kensington's Fabanaise received the 2017 FABI award at the National Restaurant Association show in Chicago, IL.[16] as well as the 2017 NEXTY award at Expo West for product innovation. [17]

The brand was awarded the Sofi award at the Fancy Food Show in 2015 for Special Sauce, and was a 2016 finalist for Chipotle Fabanaise. Sir Kensington's Spicy Brown Mustard and Yellow Mustard have won Gold medal and Silver medals respectively at the Worldwide Mustard Competition organized by the National Mustard Museum.[18]

Fries of New York

In November 2014, Sir Kensington’s created a pop-up French fry museum, entitled Fries of New York. The exhibition featured 100 French fries from New York City restaurants preserved in resin alongside materials on the history of French fries and accompanying condiments. [19][20][21]

Acquisition

On April 20, 2017, Unilever announced its acquisition of Sir Kensington's for an undisclosed sum.[22][23][24]

References

  1. ^ Jones, Donovan (April 24, 2017). "Unilever To Acquire Sir Kensington's Condiment Firm". Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  2. ^ Sportelli,, Natalie (October 1, 2015). "Sir Kensington's Rise To Condiment Royalty". Forbes. Retrieved October 22, 2017.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  3. ^ Richardson, Nikita (November 15, 2016). "Sir Kensington's: Three Questions For Finding Your Purpose". Fast Company. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  4. ^ Strom, Stephanie (April 20, 2017). "Unilever Buys Sir Kensington's, Maker of Fancy Ketchup". The New York Times. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  5. ^ Zaleski, Olivia; Craig, Giammona (April 20, 2017). "Unilever Is Buying Mayo Upstart After Rebuffing Kraft". Bloomberg. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  6. ^ Schultz, Clark (April 20, 2017). "Unilever acquires Sir Kensington's". Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  7. ^ Rogers, Kate (May 24, 2016). "Grocery store frustration sparks condiment empire". CNBC. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  8. ^ a b Marlin, Chadwick (October 2, 2014). "How Malcolm Gladwell Inspired Sir Kensington's Ketchup To Take On Heinz". Fast Company.
  9. ^ Marlin, Chadwick (November 11, 2016). "Sir Kensington's: Three Questions For Finding Your Purpose". Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  10. ^ "The Story of Sir Kensington". Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  11. ^ "Pass the Ketchup - An Interview with Mark Ramadan of Sir Kensington's". Bond Street. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  12. ^ Marlin, Chadwick (June 15, 2015). "Q&A with Scott Norton, Co-founder of Sir Kensington's Ketchup". Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  13. ^ Pace, Gina (September 27, 2016). "How Sir Kensington's Is Making Condiments Cool". Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  14. ^ Fabricant, Florence (August 6, 2013). "Front Burner: A Biodynamic Wine Shop in Brooklyn, Hot Chocolate for Cold Sipping and More". The New York Times. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  15. ^ "Say Hello to 'Fabanaise' Vegan Mayo You Can Buy That's Made With Aquafaba (Chickpea Water)!". March 11, 2016. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  16. ^ "2017 FABI Award Recipients: Sir Kensington's". National Restaurant Association. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  17. ^ "Natural Products Expo West 2017: 2017 Winners". Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  18. ^ "The Results Are In…". National Mustard Museum. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  19. ^ Fabricant, Florence (November 3, 2014). "An Exhibition of French Fries, Ramen for the Dining Room and More Food News". The New York Times. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  20. ^ "Sir Kensington's - Condiments with Character". Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  21. ^ Singer, Mark (November 10, 2014). "On the Side". The New Yorker. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  22. ^ Strom, Stephanie (April 20, 2017). "Unilever Buys Sir Kensington's, Maker of Fancy Ketchup". The New York Times. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  23. ^ "Sir Kensington's — The Next Chapter". Sir Kensington's. April 20, 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
  24. ^ "We Sold Sir Kensington's to Unilever to Increase Our Impact". May 15, 2017. Retrieved October 22, 2017.
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