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| Product type | Brown sauce |
|---|---|
| Owner | Premier Foods (In North AmericaKraft Heinz) |
| Country | England |
| Introduced | 1831; 195 years ago (1831) |
| Website | kraftheinz.com/a1 |
A.1. Sauce (formerlyA.1. Steak Sauce and sometimes stylised asA1 Sauce in certain markets) is a brand ofbrown sauce produced by Brand & co, a subsidiary ofPremier Foods in theUnited Kingdom (as "Brand's A.1. Sauce") and inNorth America byKraft Heinz. Created in London, it was sold from 1831 as acondiment for "fish, meat, fowl andgame" dishes in theUnited Kingdom. The makers introduced the product toCanada, and later to theU.S. where it was later marketed as asteak sauce.
In 1824, Henderson William Brand, a chef toKing George IV of the United Kingdom, created the originalbrown sauce on which A.1. is based.[1] A popular myth has it that the king declared it "A.1." and thus, the name was born.[2] The term "A.1." originated as an international ship insurance certification byLloyd's Register to describe a "first rate" ship.
The sauce went into commercial production under the Brand & Co. label in 1831, marketed as a condiment for "fish, meat and fowl", and continued production under this label after bankruptcy forced ownership of Brand & Co. to be transferred to W. H. Withall in 1850.
The product label proclaims; "Est. 1862."
It was renamed A.1. in 1873, after a trademark dispute between creator Henderson William Brand and Dence & Mason, who had since purchased Brand & Co. from Withall. It continued to be produced by Brand & Co. until the late 1970s at the firm's factory in Vauxhall, London[3] until it fell out of favor within the UK domestic market. A.1. brand in the UK was owned byRanks Hovis McDougall for a time and currently owned by Premier Foods.[4] A.1. Sauce was still, as of June 2020, produced inEngland and exported toAsia.[5][6]
A.1. was officially registered as atrademark in the US in 1895, and imported and distributed in the United States byG. F. Heublein & Brothers in 1906. Beginning in the early 1960s, it was marketed in the US as "A.1. Steak Sauce".[7]R. J. Reynolds—which merged with Nabisco in 1985 to formRJR Nabisco—acquired Heublein in 1982. In 1999,Kraft Foods acquired Nabisco, including the licence for the A.1. brand in North America.[citation needed]
In the USA during the 1980s, two new flavors of A.1. were introduced, representing the first expansion of the trademark in North America. These varieties were soon discontinued.[citation needed] In 2000, an A.1. line ofmarinades was launched.[citation needed] In May 2014, Kraft Foods inNorth America announced it was dropping the word "steak" from the A.1. name, reverting to A.1. Sauce to "reflect modern dining habits".[8]
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A.1. Sauce in the US includestomato purée,raisin paste, spiritvinegar,corn syrup,salt, crushedorangepurée, driedgarlic andonions,spice,celery seed,caramel color,potassium sorbate, andxanthan gum.[9] The 'Original' A1 recipe exported to the USA dramatically differs from the versions sold in Canada.[6] A.1. Sauce in Canada includes tomato purée,marmalade, raisins, onions, garlic,malt vinegar,sugar, salt,tragacanth, spices and flavorings.
A.1. in the United States was the subject of a trademark dispute between then-owners RJR Nabisco andArnie Kaye ofWestport, Connecticut, whose International Deli was producing and selling its own recipe condiment under the name "A.2. Sauce". In 1991, theUnited States District Court for Connecticut found in favor of Nabisco.[10][11]
Rock musician and singerMeat Loaf appeared in a TV commercial for the product, to promote its new slogan: "A.1.—Makes beef sing". In the commercial, the slogan is "Makes Meat Loaf sing", and he sings a very short excerpt from his hit song "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)".[12]
Kraft Foods current brands | ||
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| Baking |  | |
| Beverages | ||
| Condiments | ||
| Convenience food | ||
| Dairy | ||
