Zatarain's
Zatarain's is a New Orleans-rooted American food brand known for Louisiana-style seasonings, seafood-boil products, prepared rice dishes, mustard, Fish-Fri and root-beer extract.
Last updated August 26, 2026
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Overview
Zatarain's is an American food brand whose identity is closely associated with New Orleans and the culinary traditions of Louisiana, especially Cajun and Creole cooking. Its range spans spice blends, seafood-boil seasonings, Creole mustard, seasoned coatings, boxed and frozen meals, and extracts for home preparation. Although the brand is now owned by McCormick & Company, its name continues to signal a regional food heritage rather than a single product category. The business began in New Orleans in 1886, when Emile A. Zatarain Sr. opened a grocery store. Zatarain developed a root-beer formula that was introduced as Papoose Root Beer in 1889. The root beer became the foundation for a manufacturing business, Papoose Pure Food Products, which produced and marketed extracts rather than only finished beverages. The company subsequently broadened its activities to include mustard, pickled vegetables, olives, spices and other food products. As the manufacturing operation became more important than the original grocery store, the family concentrated on packaged foods. New Orleans- and Creole-influenced seasonings became an important point of differentiation. In 1922, the company was reorganized as E.A. Zatarain & Sons, Inc., also operating under the Zatarain's Pure Food Products name. Members of the Zatarain family remained involved in the business, and Ida May Bennett Zatarain was associated with recipes for products such as remoulade sauce and olive salad. The company changed hands in 1963, when James Grinstead Viavant acquired it and modernized its production and packaging. He combined the business with Pelican State Lab, whose Fish-Fri coated fish-frying mix became part of the Zatarain's portfolio. Viavant discontinued less central lines and moved the operation to a modern plant in Gretna, Louisiana. By the early 1970s, Zatarain's had developed from a local manufacturer into a well-known regional brand. Ownership changed repeatedly during the 1980s and 1990s. Centra Soya acquired the business in 1984, followed by Wyndham Foods and later Martha White Foods and other corporate owners. During this period, the company expanded into institutional foodservice and introduced boxed meal products. The boxed range benefited from the national popularity of Cajun cooking in the 1980s, including interest stimulated by chefs such as Paul Prudhomme. When that trend softened, the packaging and positioning increasingly used broader descriptions such as Louisiana-style and New Orleans-style. In 1993, Zatarain's was taken private through a leveraged buyout involving Citigroup Venture Capital and Zatarain's employees. The company added frozen foods and expanded its assortment. It began national television advertising in 1999, supporting a move beyond its traditional regional base. McCormick acquired Zatarain's on May 9, 2003, for a reported $180 million, bringing the brand into the portfolio of a major global spice and flavorings company. Today, Zatarain's remains associated with accessible Louisiana-inspired cooking. Its products are designed to simplify dishes that might otherwise require numerous spices, stocks or preparation steps. The portfolio includes crab and shrimp boil mixes, liquid boil concentrate, Creole mustard, Fish-Fri, seasoning blends, root-beer extract, and ready-to-serve or easy-to-prepare rice and bean meals such as gumbo, jambalaya and red beans and rice. The brand has also used sports and regional marketing to maintain its New Orleans connection, including a jersey-patch sponsorship of the New Orleans Pelicans announced in 2017.
History
Zatarain's traces its origins to 1886, when Emile A. Zatarain Sr. opened a grocery business in New Orleans. The store was an early adopter of commercial equipment and developed a local delivery operation. Zatarain's most important early success came from a root-beer formula. The drink was introduced under the Papoose Root Beer name at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition on May 7, 1889. Its popularity led Zatarain to establish Papoose Pure Food Products and construct a factory for manufacturing and distributing the product. Rather than limiting the business to bottled or prepared root beer, Zatarain developed the formula as an extract that could be sold to households, restaurants and retailers. The company diversified into mustard, pickled vegetables, olives, extracts and spices. As packaged-food manufacturing became more profitable than grocery retailing, the business focused on products that reflected New Orleans foodways. Creole and Cajun-style seasonings eventually became central to the company's identity. In 1922, the family reorganized the company as E.A. Zatarain & Sons, Inc., while also using the Zatarain's Pure Food Products name. Emile A. Zatarain Jr. and Ida May Bennett Zatarain later assumed important operating and product-development roles. Ida May was associated with recipes including remoulade sauce and olive salad, illustrating the way the family business combined manufacturing with regional culinary knowledge. A major transition occurred in 1963, when the Zatarain family sold the company to James Grinstead Viavant, a New Orleans businessman and founder of Avondale Shipyards. Viavant modernized the operation, which had been using outdated packaging methods, and merged the Zatarain business with Pelican State Lab. That company owned Fish-Fri, a seasoned coating for frying fish. Fish-Fri became one of the brand's best-known products. Viavant also eliminated several less strategic lines, including bleach, dyes and pickles, and moved production to a modern five-acre facility in Gretna, Louisiana. Under Viavant, Zatarain's grew into a prominent regional brand by the early 1970s. In 1983, it became involved in a trademark case concerning Fish-Fri. Zatarain's argued that Oak Grove Smokehouse's Fish Fry product infringed its mark. The court held that Fish-Fri was protectable but that the competitor's use of Fish Fry was a fair descriptive use. The case remains a notable example in trademark law because it addressed the boundary between a distinctive brand expression and ordinary descriptive language. Viavant sold the company to Centra Soya in May 1984. Centra later sold it to Wyndham Foods, which retained the retail business and expanded into institutional foodservice. Wyndham introduced boxed food products and used the growing national interest in Cajun cooking to broaden the brand. The packaging initially emphasized Cajun terminology, then increasingly used Louisiana-style and New Orleans-style language as the cooking trend became less defined by the 1980s Cajun boom. Martha White Foods and other corporate owners subsequently held the business during a period of frequent ownership changes. In 1993, Zatarain's became a private company through a leveraged buyout involving Citigroup Venture Capital and employees. The business expanded its product line into frozen foods and continued developing convenient rice, bean and regional-meal formats. It launched its first national television advertising in 1999, reflecting an effort to move from a primarily Southern and regional customer base toward national distribution. McCormick acquired Zatarain's on May 9, 2003, for a reported $180 million. The acquisition placed the brand within a large international spice and flavorings company while preserving its Louisiana-oriented consumer positioning. In later years, Zatarain's continued to market seasonings, seafood boils, Fish-Fri, mustard, meal mixes, frozen products and root-beer extract. Its 2017 New Orleans Pelicans jersey-patch sponsorship reinforced the connection between the brand, New Orleans and local cultural identity.
- 2017
New Orleans Pelicans sponsorship
[1]Zatarain's becomes a jersey-patch sponsor of the New Orleans Pelicans.
- 2003
McCormick acquisition
[1]McCormick acquires Zatarain's and adds it to its branded spices and food-products portfolio.
- 1999
First national television advertising
[1]The brand begins national television advertising as part of its effort to expand beyond its traditional regional market.
- 1993
Taken private through leveraged buyout
[1]Zatarain's becomes Zatarain's Partnership LP through a transaction involving Citigroup Venture Capital and company employees.
- 1984
Acquired by Centra Soya
[1]Centra Soya acquires Zatarain's as the company approaches a change in ownership and management direction.
- 1983
Fish-Fri trademark litigation
[1]A federal trademark case examines Zatarain's rights in Fish-Fri and a competitor's descriptive use of Fish Fry.
- 1963
Ownership passes outside the founding family
[1]James Grinstead Viavant acquires the business, modernizes production and moves the operation to Gretna, Louisiana.
- 1963
Fish-Fri joins the Zatarain's portfolio
[1]Viavant combines Zatarain's with Pelican State Lab, bringing the Fish-Fri seasoned fish-frying coating under the Zatarain's label.
- 1922
Business reorganized as E.A. Zatarain & Sons
[1]The family reorganizes the company under the E.A. Zatarain & Sons name and continues operating under Zatarain's Pure Food Products.
- 1889
Papoose Root Beer introduced
[1]Zatarain introduces Papoose Root Beer at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition and subsequently develops a manufacturing business around the product and its extract.
Products and positioning
An accessible, heritage-led Louisiana food brand that helps consumers prepare New Orleans- and Cajun-inspired dishes through packaged seasonings, mixes, seafood-boil products and ready-to-prepare meals.
Seafood-boil seasoning
Crab and shrimp boil products
Zatarain's seafood-boil products combine spices traditionally used for communal Louisiana seafood boils. Packet formats historically use a bag of whole spices, while liquid concentrate provides another way to season boiling water, soups and related dishes. The range is associated with the social ritual of preparing crab, shrimp and other seafood in a seasoned cooking liquid.
Mustard
Creole Mustard
Creole Mustard is a stone-ground brown mustard associated with New Orleans cuisine. It is positioned as a more assertive regional alternative to standard yellow mustard and can be used as a condiment or as an ingredient in sauces, dressings and remoulade-style preparations.
Seasoned coating · 1963
Fish-Fri
Fish-Fri is a seasoned cornmeal coating used to prepare fried fish and other seafood. It entered the Zatarain's portfolio through the 1963 combination with Pelican State Lab and became one of the brand's signature products. Its name was also the subject of the company's best-known trademark dispute.
Packaged meals
Ready-to-prepare rice and bean meals
The meal range includes products inspired by gumbo, jambalaya, red beans and rice, and black beans and rice. Boxed formats generally require added water and cooking, while related prepared and frozen formats are intended to reduce preparation time. Meat or other ingredients can be added according to the cook's preference.
Spices and seasonings
Seasonings and spice blends
Zatarain's seasonings include Cajun- and Creole-influenced blends, cayenne pepper and other products intended to provide a convenient Louisiana-style flavor base. The blends extend the brand beyond complete meals and support use across seafood, meat, vegetables, rice dishes and soups.
Beverage extract · 1889
Root Beer Extract
Root Beer Extract descends from the company's earliest commercial success, Papoose Root Beer. It is sold for home preparation and brewing rather than only as a finished ready-to-drink beverage, preserving a direct link to the brand's nineteenth-century origins.
Marketing campaigns
- 2017New Orleans Pelicans jersey-patch sponsorship
New Orleans · United States
Zatarain's sponsored the New Orleans Pelicans through a jersey-patch arrangement, using a prominent local sports property to reinforce its New Orleans heritage.
Outcome. The sponsorship associated the brand with its home-market basketball team; specific audience or sales results are not available in the supplied sources.
- 1999First national television advertising
United States
Zatarain's used national television advertising to support expansion beyond its established Southern and regional customer base.
Outcome. The campaign marked a shift toward national brand building, although no independently sourced campaign performance figures are provided.
Brand decisions
2003
Acquisition by McCormickM&ABackground
Zatarain's had expanded its products and distribution and was being prepared for another ownership transition.
Action taken
McCormick acquired the brand on May 9, 2003.
Aftermath
Zatarain's became part of McCormick's international branded food and spice portfolio while retaining its Louisiana-oriented identity.
Reported acquisition price. $180 million (May 9, 2003)
1993
Leveraged buyout and employee participationM&ABackground
After several corporate ownership changes, the business was reorganized as a private partnership.
Action taken
Citigroup Venture Capital and Zatarain's employees participated in the leveraged buyout that created Zatarain's Partnership LP.
Aftermath
The private company expanded into frozen foods and continued broadening the product line.
1985
Expansion into boxed and institutional foodsStrategyBackground
Wyndham Foods retained Zatarain's retail business while seeking broader distribution and new channels.
Action taken
The company expanded into institutional foodservice and introduced boxed meal products, using Cajun and later Louisiana-style positioning.
Aftermath
The boxed range became an enduring part of the brand's portfolio.
1984
Sale to Centra SoyaM&ABackground
James Grinstead Viavant sold the company as he approached retirement after developing it into a substantial regional food business.
Action taken
Centra Soya acquired Zatarain's in May 1984.
Aftermath
Centra later sold the company to Wyndham Foods, beginning a period of frequent ownership changes.
Reported acquisition price. $24 million (May 1984)
1963
Consolidation around profitable packaged-food categoriesStrategyBackground
After acquiring the business, James Grinstead Viavant found outdated packaging technology and a portfolio that included several less central product lines.
Action taken
He modernized production, discontinued bleach, dyes and pickles, combined the company with Pelican State Lab, and emphasized spices, Fish-Fri and other profitable food products.
Aftermath
The changes helped establish Zatarain's as a recognized regional brand by the early 1970s.
Recent events
- 2017
Zatarain's announced as New Orleans Pelicans jersey-patch sponsor[1]
Campaign
The New Orleans Pelicans announced Zatarain's as a jersey-patch sponsor, linking the brand to its home-city identity and regional heritage.
- 2003
Zatarain's acquired by McCormick[1]
M&A
McCormick acquired Zatarain's on May 9, 2003, adding the New Orleans-rooted food brand to its global spice and flavorings portfolio.
- 1983
Zatarain's challenged use of the name Fish Fry[1]
Lawsuit
Zatarain's brought a trademark-infringement action against Oak Grove Smokehouse over a competing fish-frying product called Fish Fry. The court protected Zatarain's Fish-Fri mark but found the competitor's use of the descriptive phrase to be fair use.
Sources1 sources
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