Sir Kensington's
{{Short description|American food brand owned by Unilever}}
{{UPE|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Sir Kensington's
| logo = File:Sir Kensington's logo.svg
| logo_size =
| type = Subsidiary
| industry = Food processing
| fate = Acquired by Unilever
| founded = {{Start date and age|2010}}
| founders = {{ubl|Mark Ramadan|Scott Norton|Brandon Child|Win Bennett}}
| hq_location_city = New York City, New York
| hq_location_country = United States
| area_served = North America
| key_people = {{ubl|Mark Ramadan (ex-CEO & co-founder)|Scott Norton (CEO & co-founder)|Brandon Child (co-founder)| Win Bennett (co-founder)}}
| products = Condiments
| website = {{URL|www.sirkensingtons.com}}
}}
Sir Kensington's is an American food company with headquarters in New York City, New York. It was founded by Mark Ramadan, Scott Norton, Brandon Child, and Win Bennett.{{cite news|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/3025560/better-than-heinz|title=Better Than Heinz|last1=Matlin|first1=Chadwick|date=February 10, 2014|work=Fast Company|access-date=December 13, 2019}}{{cite news|last1=Sportelli|first1=Natalie|title=Sir Kensington's Rise To Condiment Royalty|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/nataliesportelli/2015/10/01/the-king-of-ketchup-sir-kensingtons-rise-to-condiment-royalty/|access-date=October 22, 2017|work=Forbes|date=October 1, 2015}} The company produces Non-GMO Project Verified condiments including ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, ranch dressing, and "Fabanaise", a vegan mayo whose name is a portmanteau of the substitute ingredient aquafaba and mayonnaise which it mimics.{{cite news|last1=Richardson|first1=Nikita|title=Sir Kensington's: Three Questions For Finding Your Purpose|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/3065148/sir-kensingtons-three-prompts-for-finding-your-purpose|access-date=October 22, 2017|work=Fast Company|date=November 15, 2016}}
On April 20, 2017, Unilever announced its acquisition of Sir Kensington's. The company remains independently led and managed as a wholly owned subsidiary.{{cite news|last1=Strom|first1=Stephanie|title=Unilever Buys Sir Kensington's, Maker of Fancy Ketchup|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/20/business/dealbook/unilever-buys-sir-kensingtons-maker-of-fancy-ketchup.html?_r=0|access-date=October 22, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=April 20, 2017}}{{cite news|last1=Zaleski|first1=Olivia|last2=Craig|first2=Giammona|title=Unilever Is Buying Mayo Upstart After Rebuffing Kraft|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-04-20/unilever-is-said-to-be-buying-mayo-upstart-after-rebuffing-kraft|access-date=October 22, 2017|work=Bloomberg|date=April 20, 2017}}{{cite news|last1=Schultz|first1=Clark|title=Unilever acquires Sir Kensington's|url=https://seekingalpha.com/news/3258352-unilever-acquires-sir-kensingtons|access-date=October 22, 2017|date=April 20, 2017}}
Background
Sir Kensington's Ketchup was first created in 2008 by Scott Norton, Mark Ramadan, Brandon Child, and Win Bennett.{{cite news|url=https://www.browndailyherald.com/2008/04/25/saucy-gentlemen-debut-a-new-ketchup/|title=Saucy gentlemen debut a new ketchup|last1=Cullen|first1=Catherine|date=April 25, 2008|work=Brown Daily Herald|access-date=October 22, 2017}}{{cite news|last1=Marlin|first1=Chadwick|title=How Malcolm Gladwell Inspired Sir Kensington's Ketchup To Take On Heinz|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/3025560/better-than-heinz|work=Fast Company|date=October 2, 2014}} After two years of development, the product was commercially launched, featuring less sugar and salt than standard ketchup, and no high-fructose corn syrup.{{cite news|last1=Marlin|first1=Chadwick|title=Sir Kensington's: Three Questions For Finding Your Purpose|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/3065148/sir-kensingtons-three-prompts-for-finding-your-purpose|access-date=October 22, 2017|date=November 11, 2016}} The brand is named after a fictitious British merchant, who they created as a mascot to represent the company's "quirky sensibility".{{cite web|title=The Story of Sir Kensington|url=https://sirkensingtons.com/story|access-date=October 22, 2017}} 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."{{cite news|title=Pass the Ketchup - An Interview with Mark Ramadan of Sir Kensington's|url=https://bondstreet.com/blog/sir-kensington-interview//|access-date=October 22, 2017|work=Bond Street}}
In May 2010, Ramadan and Norton became the company's first full-time employees. That year, they sold 10,000 jars in stores including Dean & DeLuca and Williams Sonoma. Since then, the company has expanded to offer Non-GMO Project verified and USDA-certified organic products including mayonnaise, mustard, and vegan mayonnaise.{{cite news|last1=Marlin|first1=Chadwick|title=Q&A with Scott Norton, Co-founder of Sir Kensington's Ketchup|url=https://www.fastcodesign.com/3046509/qa-with-scott-norton-co-founder-of-sir-kensingtons-ketchup|access-date=October 22, 2017|date=June 15, 2015}} The company financed its early growth by raising $8.5 million from a Belgian private equity firm named Verlinvest and other individual investors.{{cite news|last1=Pace|first1=Gina|title=How Sir Kensington's Is Making Condiments Cool|url=http://www.townandcountrymag.com/leisure/dining/news/a7857/sir-kensingtons/|access-date=October 22, 2017|date=September 27, 2016}}
Products
In 2010, Sir Kensington's launched its first product: ketchup. The ketchup is packaged in glass and plastic bottles of various sizes. It offers "classic" and "spicy" ketchup varieties.
The company introduced mayonnaise in May 2013, producing in classic, avocado oil, organic, Sriracha, chipotle, special sauce, and dijonnaise varieties.{{cite news|last1=Fabricant|first1=Florence|title=Front Burner: A Biodynamic Wine Shop in Brooklyn, Hot Chocolate for Cold Sipping and More|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/07/dining/front-burner-a-biodynamic-wine-shop-in-brooklyn-hot-chocolate-for-cold-sipping-and-more.html?mcubz=0|access-date=October 22, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=August 6, 2013}} It also offers mustard in spicy brown, dijon, yellow, and honey mustard varieties, as well as ranch dressing in classic, avocado oil, buffalo, and pizza flavors.
In 2016, the company launched "Fabanaise", a vegan mayonnaise, made with a natural egg replacement, called aquafaba. Aquafaba is the brine water that naturally occurs when cooking chickpeas.
Awards and recognition
Sir Kensington's Fabanaise received the 2017 FABI award at the National Restaurant Association show in Chicago, Illinois.{{cite web|title= 2017 FABI Award Recipients: Sir Kensington's|url=https://show.restaurant.org/Experience/FABI/2017-FABI-Award-Recipients/Sir-Kensington|website=National Restaurant Association|access-date=October 22, 2017}} as well as the 2017 NEXTY award at Expo West for product innovation. {{cite web|title=Natural Products Expo West 2017: 2017 Winners
|url=http://mustardmuseum.com/the-results-are-in/|access-date=October 22, 2017}}
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.{{cite web|title=The Results Are In…|url=http://www.expowest.com/ew17/public/Content.aspx?ID=1065082|website=National Mustard Museum|access-date=October 22, 2017}}
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. {{cite news|last1=Fabricant|first1=Florence|title=An Exhibition of French Fries, Ramen for the Dining Room and More Food News|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/05/dining/an-exhibition-of-french-fries-ramen-for-the-dining-room-and-more-food-news.html?mcubz=0|access-date=October 22, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=November 3, 2014}}{{cite web|title=Sir Kensington's - Condiments with Character.|url=http://fries.sirkensingtons.com|access-date=October 22, 2017}}{{cite news|last1=Singer|first1=Mark|title=On the Side|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/11/17/side|access-date=October 22, 2017|work=The New Yorker|date=November 10, 2014}}
Acquisition
On April 20, 2017, Unilever announced its acquisition of Sir Kensington's for an undisclosed sum.{{cite news|last1=Strom|first1=Stephanie|title=Unilever Buys Sir Kensington's, Maker of Fancy Ketchup|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/20/business/dealbook/unilever-buys-sir-kensingtons-maker-of-fancy-ketchup.html?mcubz=0|access-date=October 22, 2017|work=The New York Times|date=April 20, 2017}}{{cite news|title=Sir Kensington's — The Next Chapter|url=https://medium.com/@sirkensingtons/sir-kensingtons-the-next-chapter-6e1bd994ac8f|access-date=October 22, 2017|work=Sir Kensington's|date=April 20, 2017}}{{cite news|title=We Sold Sir Kensington's to Unilever to Increase Our Impact|url=https://foodtechconnect.com/2017/05/15/we-sold-sir-kensingtons-to-unilever-to-increase-our-impact/|access-date=October 22, 2017|date=May 15, 2017}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|http://www.sirkensingtons.com/}}
{{Unilever}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sir Kensington's}}
Category:Companies based in New York City
Category:Manufacturing companies based in New York City
Category:American companies established in 2010
Category:Food manufacturers of the United States