Duke’s Timeline

• 1881

  Eugenia Thomas is born in Columbus, Georgia, the 10th of 10 children.

• 1900

  19-year-old Thomas marries Harry Duke.

• 1910

  The Dukes move to Greenville, South Carolina for Harry’s job at Southern Power Co.

• 1917

  Eugenia Duke begins selling sandwiches with her homemade mayonnaise to soldiers at Fort Sevier. Sandwiches cost a dime each, and Duke makes a profit of 2 cents per sandwich.

  
• 1918

  Eugenia Duke sells her 11,000th sandwich and buys her first delivery truck.

• 1920

  Duke begins selling her sandwiches in drugstores and local grocery stores.

• 1920

  Duke sets up shop at The Ottaray Hotel in downtown Greenville, selling her popular sandwiches at the Ottaray’s Duke’s Tea Room.

  
• 1923

  Duke’s salesman C.B. Boyd sees an opportunity to expand the business and suggests bottling the homemade mayonnaise as a separate product. Sure enough, the mayonnaise business takes off and Eugenia Duke abandons the sandwich business entirely to focus her efforts on her mayonnaise.

• 1926

  Demand continues to grow rapidly, so Eugenia Duke moves production from a facility on her property to her first official plant operation.

• 1929

  Demand becomes too great for Duke to handle on her own, so she sells the business to The C.F. Sauer Company on February 29th. Eugenia stays on as C.F. Sauer’s chief salesperson.

• 1950

  The Dukes move to California to be closer to their daughter Martha, and Eugenia begins a new business venture selling sandwiches to cafes and drugstores. She operates under the name The Duchess Sandwich Company.

• 1968

  Eugenia Duke passes away at age 90 and is laid to rest in Oakland, California.

• 1985

  Light Mayonnaise is introduced.

• 1990

  The expansion of Duke’s Greenville, South Carolina plant is completed.

• 2006

  Duke’s chocolate cake recipe is introduced. It still continues to be one of Duke’s most popular recipes today.

  
• 2007

  For Duke’s 90th anniversary, the “smooth and creamy” red ribbon is added to the label.

• 2007

  Duke’s launches a Taste Tour with its mobile kitchen and visits minor league baseball games and a variety of food shows throughout the southeast. The Taste Tour has since expanded to St. Louis and surrounding markets and the trailer visits multiple family food festivals.

  
• 2009

  In light of many major mayonnaise brands switching from 32-ounce jars to 30-ounce jars, Duke’s adds a “still 32 ounces” tag to the label.

• 2011

  Duke’s is featured in the documentary Pimento Cheese Please and representatives of Duke’s judge a pimento cheese contest at the documentary premiere.

  
• 2012

  Duke’s introduces a new variation on Duke’s Light Mayonnaise: Duke’s Light with Olive Oil.

  
• 2012

  Duke’s begins sponsorship of the local Hanover Tomato Festival.

• 2012

  Duke’s premieres its food monologues. They focus on Duke’s rich chocolate cake, creamy potato salad, juicy burgers, and zesty chicken salad.

  
• 2015

  The Duke’s 1 Cup Pouch is introduced, marking the newest category innovation in the mayonnaise business since the switch from glass to plastic jars.

• 2015

  Duke’s launches a brand ambassador promotion from its headquarters in Richmond, Virginia. 11 Duke’s fans participate and they each lead a team of 10 Duke’s converts.

  
• 2017

  Duke’s celebrates its 100th anniversary with a new label, a commemorative book, and a celebration in Duke’s hometown, Greenville, South Carolina.