Shoppers are confused by ‘envelope gravy’ at Real Canadian Superstore
A seemingly ordinary aisle sign at a grocery store has left Canadians and tourists alike wondering what the heck “envelope gravy” is.
It all started with British comedian Sarah Millican, who asked her 1.8 million followers on X a simple question: “Does anyone know what ‘envelope gravy’ is?”
Millican, who has a new comedy special on Netflix, shared a photo of the store’s overhead aisle signage, which lists “envelope gravy” alongside categories including cake mixes and rice crackers.
“I previously assumed it was your arse crack when you’ve had a wet fart,” Millican joked in the post.
Hey guys, does anyone know what ‘envelope gravy’ is? Photo taken in a Real Canadian Superstore in Toronto. I previously assumed it was your arse crack when you’ve had a wet fart. ‘Oh no, I have envelope gravy!’ sort of thing. pic.twitter.com/j56XLv5zV8
— Sarah Millican (@SarahMillican75) September 27, 2026
It turns out she wasn’t the only person confused.
“I was in Toronto last Tuesday at a Real Canadian Superstore and wondered the EXACT same thing,” a user named Matt Avery wrote on X. “Life can be so weird and coincidental. Also, I still don’t know what it is!”
Oh my goodness! I was in Toronto last Tuesday at a Real Canadian Superstore and wondered the EXACT same thing! I even took a similar picture. Life can be so weird and coincidental. Also, I still don’t know what it is! pic.twitter.com/pVfGKK0Roj
— Matt Avery (@MattKit) September 27, 2026
The confusion is particularly amusing because Canadians are hardly strangers to gravy.
We put gravy on fries and cheese curds to make poutine. We pour it over mashed potatoes. We serve it alongside roast beef and turkey. We know gravy. But envelope gravy? Not so much.
Some Canadians claimed it’s not at all a common term in our lexicon.
What were they thinking? I live in Canada, near Toronto, and never have I ever heard a Canadian say the phrase “envelope gravy.”
— Eileen Doucet (@eileen_doucet) September 27, 2026
Another Canadian claimed it’s simply “weird.”
Yeesh. I’m Canadian and I have never heard it called ‘envelope gravy’. That’s just weird. Maybe an Ontario thing? Although I don’t shop at Superstore so maybe it says that here (Winnipeg) too. 🤷🏻♀️ Now all I can think of is your version haha
— kate chapman (@Kateyc66) September 27, 2026
A Toronto resident said that “gravy mix” is typically what shoppers call the product.
Torontonian for decades here, never heard it ever referred to as “envelope” gravy. It’s instant “gravy mix” or “packet gravy”.
— Ms Emme Jaye 🇨🇦🎠 (@JayeEmme) September 27, 2026
Others made jokes that it’s a literal envelope stuffed with gravy.
Gravy you can send in the mail to a friend?
— RussMiddleton (@TeamVelma) September 27, 2026
“Envelope gravy” describes those little packets usually from brands like Club House, No Name, or McCormick. The packets contain a dry mixture of ingredients that you turn into actual gravy by adding liquid and heating it.
Envelopes. Packets. Mix. Whatever you call it, it’s all the same thing.
Who are we to judge unconventional grocery packaging? After all, we are a nation that drinks milk out of a plastic bag!
Daily Hive reached out to Real Canadian Superstore to ask how popular envelope gravy is among shoppers and whether it really deserved its own spot on the store’s overhead signage.
The company did not respond to our inquiry. You could say ours is one envelope they haven’t opened yet.