Get ready to dip into something delicious with We Must Mustard owner Courtney Yones—maker of Portland’s favorite new kitchen staple.
At New Seasons, we're always looking for up-and-coming local deliciousness to share with you, and in 2025, we had the great pleasure of tasting something we knew would change the condiment game.
Meet Courtney Yones, owner and founder of We Must Mustard—and maker of your new favorite dipping mustard.
Inspired by her son's love of mustard (like, mustard-on-a-snow-cone kind of love), Courtney set out to create something worthy of that kind of devotion—and to fill a gap she noticed in the artisanal market. Her goal: a mustard thick, silky, and flavorful enough to turn even skeptics into connoisseurs. After a lot of experimenting and taste-testing sessions with friends and family, she landed on recipes everyone agreed were highly craveable and endlessly dippable.
From there, Courtney enrolled in the Get Your Recipe to Market program with our partners at Portland Community College, and upon graduation, We Must Mustard joined the New Seasons family.
Once you taste it, you'll understand why the name We Must Mustard is so fitting for the product, and it also aligns with the company's values: We Must do what is right for our environment, our community, and our children—and We Must eat good condiments.
We caught up with Courtney to learn more about the company, the mustard, and how her products are making a difference in the local community.
NSM: What are you most proud of about the work that you do?
CY: Creating something pure and thoughtful through a slow process—it's what makes our mustard so unique and delicious. One of my proudest moments is always when people who "don't like" mustard taste ours and walk away with a jar.
I'm also proud of our focus on protecting our environment and supporting our local economy. We use glass jars with PFAS-free lids, paper labels, and paper packaging—and buy our ingredients, jars, and labels from local distributors. We cook in a Portland kitchen and use local Tattoo artist Allynn Carpenter from the Gilded Serpent for all the artwork on our jars and packaging. Supporting our local community, protecting our environment, and creating something truly unique are core values we're proud to uphold throughout our company.
NSM: What's unique about We Must Mustard?
CY: Our motivation is to bring consumers something they cannot find elsewhere while honoring what is best for our planet and community.
We cook our mustard in small batches to slowly develop a layered flavor profile, a silky consistency, and thicker viscosity perfect for dipping. I developed each of these flavors to pair deliciously with all the rich, salty goodies you find on a charcuterie board. And our labels are bright, colorful, and beautiful so that they stand out on a snack board or in the fridge and make wonderful host gifts.
NSM: What's it like working with New Seasons?
CY: New Seasons took a chance on me that I will forever (and ever) be grateful for. They believed in me and my product and have given me so much grace and confidence. Being an entrepreneur is lonely, so getting the chance to do in-store demos with the amazing staff makes me feel like I am part of a team. The customers are kind and generous and help me feel proud of my product and process.
Come find We Must Mustard at your neighborhood New Seasons—and don’t forget to grab your favorite mustard dippers.
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