Löwensenf Extra scharf is 100 years old - and remains true to its classic design to this day. For this, the German Packaging Museum has now honoured the mustard brand with the Packaging of the Year 2020 award.
With this award, the jury also recognises the courage to Continuation of the historic brand design and was impressed by the enduring validity of the design language, which continues to be used without compromise. The brand identity of the classic brand has only evolved in nuances and under very careful management, it is said.
The Lion mustard was added 100 years ago with the addition Extra onto the market. Because it was the roaring hot Speciality of a German mustard manufacturer whose roots lie in what is now France. Originally, Otto and Frieda Frenzel had already founded the First Lorraine vinegar and mustard factory was founded. As German citizens, the company founders had to leave Metz after the defeat of the German Empire in the First World War in 1918 and looked for a new location.
Düsseldorf is the home of Löwensenf Extra
One city in particular was famous as a German location for mustard: Düsseldorf had been home to the internationally renowned ABB Bergrath mustard factory since 1726. The Frenzels confidently placed their mustard factory in the neighbourhood of the established factory. New Düsseldorf mustard industry Otto Frenzel. And here, in 1920, the Extra lion mustard born. It was the first mustard in Germany to be produced using the traditional Dijon method.
Not only the name and the brand animal, but also the the packaging appearance were self-similar and brand-defining right from the start. From the very beginning, Frenzel's mustard varieties were sold in conventional ceramic jars, which were labelled with the company name as an abbreviation (OFD for Otto Frenzel Düsseldorf). The introduction of a glass jar in 1925 was therefore new and innovative, which made it possible to see the mustard.
First mustard with twist-off cap
The new Lion mustard entered the stage with an innovative packaging appearance right from the start as a highly recognisable brand. Remove the lid of the bulbous jar (Tönnchen ) was adorned with a lion's head. The signal colour was red, and has remained so for over 100 years. It was bold, the first German manufacturer in the mustard sector to use glass packaging with an airtight twist-off screw cap (instead of the usual ceramic vessels). And just as innovative was the first introduction of filling under vacuum, which was established in 1925 to protect the special flavour of mustard.
The mustard with the lion is still the undisputed market leader among hot mustard varieties - with a current market share of 54 per cent.
Source: Develey Senf & Feinkost GmbH
