Heinz | Heinz Story Heinz Story open menu Heinz Story The story of how Heinz came to be one of the world's best loved brands began over 140 years ago. Take a trip back with us, and find out how Henry J Heinz ensured his name would become associated with quality, variety and good taste by food lovers everywhere. 1869 In the beginning Two young American businessmen, Henry J Heinz and L Clarence Noble, launch Heinz & Noble. Their first product is Henry's 'pure and superior' grated horseradish, bottled in clear glass to show its purity. The horseradish is grown on a garden patch given to Henry by his parents. 1876 The world's first taste of ketchup Henry sets up business with two of his relations, launching F & J Heinz Company, with Henry as manager. In the US, they launch Heinz Tomato Ketchup followed by a launch in the UK in 1886. 1886 'I think Mr Heinz, we will take the lot' Henry sells his first products ­ 'seven varieties of our finest and newest goods' ­ to London's famous Fortnum & Mason food store.

1896 An historic train journey Riding the New York railway he saw a poster for a shoe company advertising its 21 styles of shoe. He is taken with the ad and totting up the number of products that his company produced, settles on 57 - although there were more, even then! On that journey Heinz 57 Varieties was born. 1910 Heinz Cream of Tomato Soup was imported into the UK. 1920s UK production starts Heinz is still exporting Baked Beans, Spaghetti and Tomato Ketchup to the UK from America and Canada. When production expands to the UK, 10,000 tonnes are produced here in the first year. 1930s You gotta talk the talk Heinz salesmen are expected to be at least 6ft tall, impeccably dressed and particularly eloquent at promoting Heinz products. Their equipment ­ including chrome vacuum flasks, pickle forks and olive spears ­weighs about 30lbs! 1931 Hard times, good food Howard Heinz, Henry's son, fights the big Depression by adding ready-to-serve soups and baby food to the Heinz range.

Feeding families looking for value, taste and quality, they become top sellers 1940s What, no ketchup? Because of the war, ingredients are in short supply. Heinz Tomato Ketchup does not appear on shelves in the UK from 1939 until 1948. What on earth did they do without it? Eat more Heinz Salad Cream, that's what. 1944 Beans for victory! Because of its major contribution to wartime food production, our Harlesden factory is bombed at least twice. Production carries on regardless as Heinz is so vital to maintaining food resources. 1951 A right Royal result The Royal Warrant is granted, and in 1954 granted again as Purveyors of Heinz Products to HM Queen Elizabeth II. 1955 Heinz goes on air for the first time 'Heinz 57' varieties are advertised on the new ITV channel. Colour posters were also produced. The jingle went: 'Heinz 57, Heinz 57. You've a family to feed. Heinz have everything you need. Ready when you are, yes indeed. That's Heinz 57!

1959 Wigan goes bean bonkers Heinz opens a Beans factory in Wigan on 21 May 1959. It uses 1,000 tonnes of dry beans every week. That's a lot of beans. 1961 The biggest promotion in the UK ever! Heinz give-away 57 Mini-Minors in a soup competition. From then on Heinz can't stop; we give away 57 caravans, 57 holidays and much, much more. 1967 The most famous slogan of them all is born Remember it? A million housewives everyday pick up a tin of beans and say: 'Beanz Meanz Heinz.' 1986 Heinz commemorates 100 years of providing British families with quality convenience foods. 1987 Ketchup gets the easy, squeezy treatment The plastic Heinz Tomato Ketchup bottle is launched. Now it is easier than ever to enjoy the world's favourite tomato ketchup with your favourite dishes. 1990s The bean goes east Heinz expands distribution to Russia and China. In total, we now export Heinz Beanz to 60 countries.

1998 Twelve of the best Heinz Beanz is selected as one of twelve brands that people think best represent the final ten years of the Millennium. 1999 We're now the world's fourth biggest food and drink brand behind Coke, McDonald's and Nescafé. 2000 Time to go organic Heinz launches organic ranges for our main brands: Organic Tomato Ketchup and Organic Heinz Beanz. Soon after, we introduce Organic Cream of Tomato Soup. 2003 Everything turned upside down Heinz Tomato Ketchup is turned on its head ­ and the Heinz Top Down Tomato Ketchup bottle is born. For the traditionalists, the distinctive glass bottles remain on sale too. 2004 Less salt for beans lovers Heinz introduces Reduced Sugar and Salt Baked Beanz while continuing to drive down added salt in standard beans which first started in 1986. 2005 Mean Beanz for a new millennium For the first time in 103 years, Heinz launches a new Heinz Beanz range: Mean Beanz, that come in world varieties ­Mexican, Sweet Chilli and Smokey BBQ.

2005 HP Sauce joins the Heinz family HP™ Sauces and Lea & Perrins™ Worcestershire Sauce joins a roster of 10 category-leading consumer brands at Heinz including Heinz Tomato Ketchup, Heinz Beanz and Heinz Cream of Tomato Soup. 2007 Busy lives have never bean so easy Heinz launches a new format to their iconic Heinz Beanz and Spaghetti Hoops brands with Snap Pots, a personalised portion that can be popped into the microwave without the need to hover by the hob, worry about waste or adding to the pile of unwashed pots and pans. 2008 Global Sustainability goals launched Heinz unveils nine global sustainability goals including the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 20% by 2015. 2009 Still coming up with inspiring food ideas IT HAS TO BE HEINZ marketing campaign was launched in October across TV, radio, in-store, digital and PR. On 21 May 2009 Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh visited the Heinz Beanz factory in Kitt Green near Wigan to mark the 50th Anniversary of the official opening of the factory.

The Queen also opened a new packing operation. 2010 Heinz Beanz Fridge Pack is launched Heinz Beanz Fridge Pack: the first-ever resealable beans product from Heinz is launched. The ground-breaking innovation allows you to use as many beans as you like before resealing the screw top and popping the remaining beans into the fridge to keep fresh for up to five days. There's also a handy see-through measure on the side showing if there are enough beans left to put on toast or partner with a spud. 2011 Heinz Tomato Ketchup with Balsamic Vinegar is launched Heinz Tomato Ketchup sells it first ever limited edition exclusively on Facebook© More than 130 years after the world's first taste of Heinz Tomato Ketchup, the iconic global brand caused a media stir with the innovative launch of Heinz Tomato Ketchup with Balsamic Vinegar. Only one million and 57 bottles of the sauce were initially made, and fans of the official UK Facebook page were given the chance to try the sauce before anyone else - with the first 3,000 sold exclusively on the site.

2012 YouGov BrandIndex Consumers put their trust in Heinz as the most highly rated food brand according to a poll published by YouGov. (YouGov BrandIndex 2011) The 144-year history of Heinz - Telegraph Retail and Consumer The 144-year history of Heinz As veteran investor Warren Buffet agrees to buy Heinz in the food industry's largest ever acquisition, we take a look at the company famous for its beans and ketchup. The billionaire's investment vehicle is reported to be putting up $4.5bn in cash as part of the purchase. 1:59PM GMT 14 Feb 2013 1869 - The beginning Two young American businessmen, Henry J Heinz and L Clarence Noble, launched Heinz & Noble. Their first product was Henry's 'pure and superior' grated horseradish, bottled in clear glass to show its purity. The horseradish was grown on a garden patch given to Henry by his parents. 1876 - The world's first taste of ketchup Henry sets up business with two of his relations, launching F & J Heinz Company, with Henry as manager.

In the US, they launched Heinz Tomato Ketchup followed by a launched in the UK in 1886. 1886 - 'I think Mr Heinz, we will take the lot' Henry sells his first products ­ 'seven varieties of our finest and newest goods' ­ to London's Fortnum & Mason food store. 1896 - An historic train journey Riding the New York railway Henry saw a poster for a shoe company advertising its 21 styles of shoe. He is said to have been taken with the ad and totted up the number of products that his company produced, finally settling on 57 - although there were more. On that journey Heinz 57 Varieties was born. 1910 - Soup Heinz Cream of Tomato Soup was imported into the UK. 1920s - UK production starts Heinz is still exporting Baked Beans, Spaghetti and Tomato Ketchup to the UK from America and Canada. When production expands to the UK, 10,000 tonnes are produced here in the first year.

1930s - Salesmen Heinz salesmen were expected to be at least 6ft tall, impeccably dressed and particularly eloquent at promoting Heinz products. Their equipment ­ which included chrome vacuum flasks, pickle forks and olive spears ­ weighed about 30lbs. 1931 - Hard times, good food Howard Heinz, Henry's son, fights the big Depression by adding ready-to-serve soups and baby food to the Heinz range. Feeding families looking for value, taste and quality, they become top sellers. 1940s - No ketchup Because of the war, ingredients were in short supply. Heinz Tomato Ketchup did not appear on shelves in the UK from 1939 until 1948. Apparently they ate more Heinz Salad Cream. 1944 - Bombed during the war Heinz's Harlesden factory was bombed twice, but production still carried on. 1951 - Royal approval The Royal Warrant is granted, and in 1954 granted again as Purveyors of Heinz Products to HM Queen Elizabeth II.

1955 - Heinz on TV 'Heinz 57' varieties was advertised on the new ITV channel. Colour posters were also produced. The jingle went: 'Heinz 57, Heinz 57. You've a family to feed. Heinz have everything you need. Ready when you are, yes indeed. That's Heinz 57!'. 1959 - Wigan factory built Heinz opens a Beans factory in Wigan on 21 May 1959, which used 1,000 tonnes of dry beans every week. 1967 - 'Beanz Meanz Heinz' is born The slogan was created in 1967, as a million housewives everyday picked up a tin of beans. 1987 - Plastic bottles introduced The battle of banging the bottom of a glass bottle of ketchup ended when Heinz introduced a plastic bottle. 1990s- Heinz go east Heinz expanded its distribution to Russia and China. In total, it exported Heinz Beanz to 60 countries at that stage.

1999 - Top four Heinz becomes the world's fourth largest food and drink brand, behind Coca-Cola, McDonald's and Nescafe. 2000 - Go organic Heinz launches its organic ranges for its main brands: Organic Tomato Ketchup and Organic Heinz Beanz. Soon after, it introduces Organic Cream of Tomato Soup. 2005 - Variety of beans For the first time in 103 years, Heinz launches a new Heinz Beanz range: Mean Beanz, that come in world varieties ­ Mexican, Sweet Chilli and Smokey BBQ. 2005 Heinz buys HP - including their sauces and Lea & Perruns Worcestershire Sauce. 2008 - Global Sustainability goals launched In May, Bill Johnson, Heinz chairman, president and chief executive, unveiled nine global sustainability goals including the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 20pc by 2015. 2009 - Royal visit In May the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh visited the Heinz Beanz factory in Kitt Green near Wigan to mark the 50th Anniversary of the official opening of the factory. The Queen also opened a new packing operation.

2013 - Buffet buys Heinz US financial titan Warren Buffett's investment firm Berkshire Hathaway, along with 3G Capital, has agreed to buy Heinz for $28bn (£18bn), in the food industry's largest ever acquisition. Pictures courtesy of Heinz. John Heinz: A Western Pennsylvania Legacy H. J. and Sarah Heinz H. J. Heinz was born in 1844 in the Birmingham section of Pittsburgh, the son of Anna Margaretha and John Henry Heinz. His father ran a brickyard in Sharpsburg; part of that property was used as a household garden by his mother. At the age of 14, Henry was already tending his own section of the garden and was developing a list of customers. He attended Duff’s Mercantile College and thoroughly familiarized himself with good, sound business practices. Soon, he began peddling prepared horseradish. By 1869, Heinz was ready to formalize his business and did so by entering a partnership with L. Clarence Noble and forming Heinz & Noble.

Their first product was, of course, horseradish, sold in clear bottles to prove that, unlike some foods, it was totally unadulterated. In the same year, he married Sarah Sloan Young, known as Sallie, who was a first-generation American, her family hailing from County Down, Ireland, where they owned a mill. Together they had four children: Irene, Howard, Clarence and Clifford. Disaster struck in 1875. Tight money, a national financial panic and the purchase of huge stocks of cucumbers and cabbage led to the bankruptcy of the young company. Despite seemingly impossible odds, Henry regrouped and forged ahead with the emotional and modest financial support of Sarah. He vowed to repay every debt, which he considered moral obligations, and did just that. By February 1876, he joined his brother John and cousin Frederick and launched the F. & J. Heinz Company. By 1888, Heinz bought out his partners, established a relationship with retailers in England and embarked on construction of a factory on the Allegheny River that would embody the best of his business acumen and his Christian principles. His benevolent management style made the H. J.

Heinz company a pioneer in labor relations. Workers were well treated and afforded comforts and conveniences including free manicures and rooftop gardens for both men and women. In 1894, the greatest tragedy of Henry’s life occurred—the death of his dearly beloved wife, Sallie. She died from double pneumonia, leaving a broken husband and bereaved children behind. Despite his profound loss, Heinz worked tirelessly against a large segment of the processed food industry to gain passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act in 1906. It inaugurated the modern food industry and guaranteed purity to all consumers. Years of hard work and innovation had made Henry John Heinz and his products internationally known and respected. In 1919, in the year of the 50th anniversary of the founding of Heinz & Noble, H. J. Heinz died of pneumonia at his home, Greenlawn, in Pittsburgh. He had instilled a sense of duty and obligation in his children that would bear fruit for generations to come. Howard and Elizabeth Rust Heinz Howard Covode Heinz was born in 1877 to H. J. Heinz and his wife, Sallie.

Raised with an ethic of hard work and community obligation, he worked in the company’s factories and salting stations around the country as a youth. Howard graduated from Yale in 1900 and began his executive career. In 1906, Howard married Elizabeth Granger Rust from Saginaw, Michigan. Elizabeth’s family, the Rusts, were involved in the lumber business in Michigan. As a young woman, she attended the fashionable Ogontz School for Young Ladies near Philadelphia, and she was an avid bridge player. In 1908, their son H. J. “Jack” Heinz II was born, followed in 1913 by another son named Rust. During Howard’s tenure as president of the Heinz Company, World War I broke out and he would come to have a role in the aftermath of the hostilities. Beginning in 1917, Howard served as United States Food Administrator for Pennsylvania. At the end of the war, in December 1918, Herbert Hoover, director of food relief, cabled Howard and asked him to serve as Director-General of American Relief Administration for Southeast Europe and Asia Minor.

Howard willingly accepted and departed for Constantinople, where he would remain until his father’s death in May of 1919 called him home. During his time away, Elizabeth, or "Betty," as Howard called her, wrote frequently and was very supportive. The decades of the 1920s and 1930s saw Howard at the top of his game. The ’20s saw expansions to thousands of acres, 69 branch offices and nearly 1400 salesmen. Howard controlled the finances and traveled extensively to oversee this vast international empire. With the onset of the Great Depression, Howard’s exceptional business skills, exercised during the ’20s, paid off. The company had no debt and was actually able to expand its markets and its workforce at a time when other companies were closing their doors. In fact, it was during this time that son Jack was off to Australia to set up a new factory. Also during the 1930s, Jack and Rust were completing their educations and beginning their own careers. Jack would apprentice himself at the company, and Rust began designing automobiles in Pasadena, California.

He designed the Comet, a delivery vehicle for the Heinz Company, and the Phantom Corsair, a futuristic vehicle with the ultimate in safety features. The car was even featured in the movie The Young in Heart with Paulette Goddard and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Ironically, there was only ever one Corsair made, as Rust lost his life in an automobile accident in July of 1939. As the 1940s approached, war loomed on the horizon for Europe and tragedy again befell the Heinz family. This time, it would have to be H. J. Heinz II who would see the company through. Howard died in early 1941 after suffering a stroke following a medical procedure in Philadelphia. With his will, the Howard Heinz Endowment was established. Elizabeth Heinz continued to live in their Morewood Heights home in Pittsburgh until her death in 1952. H. J. “Jack” Heinz II and Joan Diehl Born in 1908, Jack Heinz would live to see two world wars, the Great Depression, the vast international expansion of the Heinz Company and a renaissance in the city of Pittsburgh.

He was educated at Choate, Yale and Cambridge, but, like his father before him, he worked summers in the pickling and salting stations for the company. He then joined the sales force in England and grew to have a happy and profitable association with the UK. In 1935, Jack married Joan Diehl, a pioneering aviatrix, and the mother of their only child, H. J. Heinz III. They established their home at Rosemont Farm in the Fox Chapel suburb of Pittsburgh. While Jack was active in the business world, Joan was an industrial designer and a fine artist. They divorced in 1942, shortly after Jack became president of the company following the death of his father. His task to lead the company at a time of war was a daunting one. He made five trips to England during the war once when the company’s Harlesden plant was bombed and on several occasions at the request of the British government. He was tapped to assist England with its food shortages and also toured the Netherlands to assist that nation with food aid. Like his father after World War I, Jack was instrumental in assuaging the dire food situation in war-ravaged Europe.

The company under his leadership actively participated in the war effort. The main plant in Pittsburgh was retooled for a time to manufacture glider planes for the Department of the Army and, overseas, the Harlesden plant developed innovative strategies to utilize what food was available in England to its best advantage. As a civic leader, Jack served as chairman of the United War Fund and routinely gave speeches with the themes of food conservation, rationing and food allocations. After the war, he served as chairman of the Community Chest, which later became the United Way, criscrossing the country, encouraging people to give and give generously. But Jack Heinz was not just the president of an ever-growing company. He was an avid skier and an art collector, he traveled extensively all over the world and he was a thoughtful and dedicated philanthropist. In 1953, he married Drue Maher, who shared these interests and also had her own areas in which she worked, often acting as a theatrical angel. The arts in general, and literature and writers in particular, received great attention. She founded Ecco Press in 1971 and the Drue Heinz Literature Prize in Short Fiction, which is awarded annually by the University of Pittsburgh Press.

It was as a philanthropist that Jack Heinz would make significant contributions to the city of Pittsburgh. Following the war, he teamed up with Richard King Mellon and Mayor David Lawrence for Renaissance I—a plan to revitalize Pittsburgh and its image from old 19th-century ways to modernity. Smoke-control ordinances went into effect, ending years of pitch blackness at noon caused by soot and smoke from the steel mills. Through his chairmanship of the Howard Heinz Endowment, Jack Heinz undertook the rebirth of the Lowe’s Penn Theater, originally a movie theater. He worked to convert it to a home for the Pittsburgh Symphony. The building, known now as Heinz Hall, has served as a model for urban redevelopment. Despite advancing years and encroaching illness, Jack continued his dynamic leadership at the H. J. Heinz Company. Among the more notable achievements was the development of a baby food factory in mainland China. He was personally on hand for the opening, where the Chinese, who have a respect for lineage, were pleased to see that there was actually a Heinz behind the Heinz Company name.

In 1987, Jack Heinz succumbed to cancer, passing the reins of the company outside the family for the first time and the leadership of the family’s philanthropy to his son, H. John Heinz III. Drue Heinz continues her philanthropy in the United States and Europe. Recently, she underwrote part of a major renovation of the National Portrait Gallery in London and was instrumental in the establishment of the Drue Heinz Study Center at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Center. Clifford and Vira Heinz The youngest of H. J. Heinz’s sons was born in 1883 and grew up in the shadow of three older siblings. In 1905, he entered Lafayette and eventually moved to a career with the H. J. Heinz Company’s Pittsburgh works. He married Vira Ingham of Pittsburgh in 1932 and died a scant three years later in Palm Springs. Vira would never remarry, but she would embark on a career of philanthropy that would go on for more than four decades.

She worked in the homefront war effort during World War II and went on to participate in the founding of the Civic Light Opera, serve on the boards of the Pittsburgh Opera and Symphony Society and become the first woman trustee of Carnegie Mellon University. Her devotion to Pittsburgh and the region she called home continued even after her death in 1983. As part of her will, she established the Vira I. Heinz Endowment, which continues her generous work in giving back to Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania Center for the Book - The H.J. Heinz Company The H.J. Heinz Company By Sean Moloney and William Cadamore, Summer 2009 To do a common thing uncommonly well brings success. —Henry J. Heinz, Founder of the H.J. Heinz Company Heinz.com The Heinz Keystone Logo has reinforced the company’s connection to Pennsylvania for generations. The word "success" is an understatement when describing Henry J. Heinz and his namesake company. From humble beginnings as a local horseradish producer in 1869, Henry Heinz combined an entrepreneurial spirit with innovative advertising to create the H.J.

Heinz Company, a $10 billion Fortune 500 corporation today. With its global headquarters located at its origins of Pittsburgh's North Side, the Heinz Co. packages joy within every jar of pickles, every bottle of vinegar, and every bottle of ketchup that it sells each year. Born on October 11, 1844, Henry John Heinz grew up in Sharpsburg, a borough of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Here, at the age of eight, the young Heinz started selling extra vegetables grown in his family garden to neighbors. By the age of twelve, Heinz farmed three and a half acres of land, on which he specialized growing horseradish root. He started selling his homemade horseradish door-to-door to the residents of Sharpsburg. This early success in food processing would take a brief, but important, detour. At 21, Heinz bought a half interest in his father's brick business. Three years later, he partnered with L. C. Noble to manufacture and sell bricks—his first business venture outside the family.

The following year, in 1869, Heinz and Noble abandoned bricks and returned to food processing, starting a company named Anchor Pickle & Vinegar Works. Since the homemade horseradish was such a success, Heinz began producing other goods, including celery sauce, pickled cucumbers, and vinegar. ExplorePAHistory.com Henry John Heinz, founder of the “Ketchup Empire.” This small business soon evolved into Heinz, Noble & Company, taking on E. J. Noble as a third partner. Although the company was an instant success, the financial Panic of 1873 led the company into bankruptcy in 1875. At a Heinz family meeting on New Year's Day, 1876, Henry Heinz explained his debt-ridden situation but proposed a solution: if certain family members were to form a new company, he would work on salary and run the business. With support from his brother John, cousin Frederick, and wife Sarah, Heinz returned to the condiment business at the newly founded F. & J. Heinz Company. That year, Heinz introduced a new product—tomato ketchup—the company's most successful product yet today.

For the next few years, Heinz continued to expand the company's product line by adding apple butter, pepper sauce, and minced meat recipes. Because of his successful management, Henry J. Heinz was recognized publicly as the face of the company when its name changed to the H.J. Heinz Company. Elevated to the top position in the company, one of his first priorities was consolidating the Pittsburgh area Heinz offices and factories. Heinz decided to build his industrial complex on Pittsburgh's North Side (formerly Allegheny City), across the Allegheny River from Pittsburgh's old business section. In the midst of building the Heinz Co. headquarters from 1890—98, Henry Heinz launched one of the most remarkable, yet mysterious, events in food marketing: the Heinz "57 Varieties" campaign, begun in 1892. Several rumors surround the meaning of the number "57." Although many feel that "57" must stand for the total number of varieties that the Heinz Co. offered in 1892, this story is untrue, since the company stocked over 60 varieties at the time of launch.

Instead, Henry Heinz conceived the "57 Varieties" slogan when he was riding an elevated train in New York and spied an advertisement for "21 Styles" of shoes. Noticing its effect on himself, he perceived that a Heinz advertisement including a number would be just as memorable. After much thought about the best possible number, "57" surfaced as a perfect fit. Heinz wrote in his diary: The idea gripped me at once and I jumped off the train at the 28th Street station and began the work of laying out my advertising plans. Within a week the sign of the green pickle with the '57 Varieties' was appearing in newspapers, on billboards, signboards, and everywhere else I could find a place to stick it. Since the slogan's debut, the Heinz Co. and the number 57 continue to be associated with each other. In addition to the Heinz 57 Varieties campaign, the company is famous for its marketing strategies involving a green pickle. At the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, the H.J. Heinz Co.

exhibit was on the second floor of the Agricultural Building, a flight of stairs above foreign and imported food products. Many visitors would enter the building, but seldom would they climb the staircase. Heinz solved this dilemma by getting young boys to hand out white promise cards that could be exchanged for free souvenirs at the company exhibit. As Robert C. Alberts describes in The Good Provider, the souvenir was a "green gutta-percha pickle one and one quarter inches long, bearing the name Heinz and equipped with a hook to serve as a charm on a watch chain." The technique was an instant success, as the company handed out over a million pickle watch charms. Wikipedia.org/“Boston” The Heinz Pickle Pin gained worldwide notoriety at the 1892 World’s Fair. Later that year, a New York Times article, "Narrow Escape at World's Fair," reported that the massive crowds caused structural damage to the building, noting that "the gallery floor of the Agricultural Building has sagged where the pickle display of H.J. Heinz Company stood." Since its introduction, the pickle became synonymous with the H.J.

Heinz Company and its founder, who was known throughout the country as the "Pickle King." The pickle souvenir tradition continues today; over 100 million Heinz pickles have been passed out at various trade shows and factory tours in the company's history. The success of the Heinz pickle was the first of several advertising campaigns that enabled "Heinz" to become a household brand name. As mentioned in business historian Richard Tedlow's New and Improved, "most manufacturers [contemporaneous with the H.J. Heinz Co.] were unknown to the people who bought their products." Companies were not well known by their brand labels. By heavily advertising a standard label across various products, Henry Heinz used brand recognition to gain a competitive advantage over other companies. Exploiting the cross-referencing tendencies of consumers—and their admiration of memorable "57 Varieties" advertisements—enabled the H.J. Heinz Co. to succeed better than its competitors. Henry J. Heinz openly invited the public to visit and tour the company's main facilities in Pittsburgh, an unheard of practice in the food industry. At the turn of the twentieth century, over 20,000 visitors inspected the factory annually.

The company earned similar publicity for its two hundred jet black Heinz draft horses that delivered Heinz products throughout the country. Parades in Pittsburgh and southwestern Pennsylvania were not complete without a Heinz horse pulling a white wagon with green trimmings. Carol Szwedko A painted postcard of the Heinz plant on the North Side of Pittsburgh Eager to market Heinz during both the day and the night, the company constructed large electric outdoor signs—wildly expensive advertising novelties—to promote the Heinz Co. to passersby. A six-story sign on the corner of Fifth Avenue and 23rd Street in New York City illuminated a forty foot green pickle bearing the name Heinz and the words "57 Varieties Exhibited at Heinz Pier, Atlantic City." Originally leased in 1898 and later purchased and remodeled, the Heinz Pier adjoined the boardwalk with a classical faï¿½ade. The inside, which extended 900 feet into the Atlantic Ocean, served as host to Heinz lectures, free taste tests of Heinz products, and even famous painting exhibits.

The pier was open year round and immensely popular; an estimated 50 million people visited—and each guest was offered a Heinz pickle pin. However, after a destructive hurricane in September, 1944, Heinz management abandoned the Heinz Pier property. The Heinz Company's recipe for national success coupled brand recognition with a commitment to product quality. Until the muckraking work of writers like Sinclair Lewis (The Jungle, 1906) and the resulting Federal Food and Drug Act of 1906, food processing was unregulated in the United States. As a result, many individuals contracted illnesses from eating contaminated products that could contain unlisted fillers, both intentionally and unintentionally. The Heinz Co. calmed these fears by consciously packaging its products in clear bottles, enabling consumers to view the actual products that they purchased. The company also emphasized cleanliness in its production lines, particularly the process of bottling pickles. Young women, mostly immigrants from across Europe, sanitized the bottles that other women would pack with pickles in a distinct design—all carefully overseen by older forewomen.

In 1900, Henry Heinz travelled to the Exposition Universelle Internationale in Paris, France, to receive two gold medals, one for product quality and the other for factory conditions. At home, he openly called for federal regulations over the production, labeling, and sale of goods by the food processing industry. Through its dedication to food quality, the Heinz Co. created a responsible, and enviable, model for consumer safety. After its domestic success in the nineteenth century, the H.J. Heinz Company began to transition from a domestic, private firm to an international, public company in the twentieth century. In 1900, H.J. Heinz incorporated the company; six family members owned shares in the company. At this time, the H.J. Heinz Co. was first in the production of ketchup, pickles, mustard, and vinegar in the United States. Five years later, in 1905, Heinz expanded overseas when the company opened its first international factory in England. Unfortunately, at the age of 75, Heinz Company founder H.J. Heinz died in 1919.

The management of the business remained in the family, however, as Howard Heinz succeeded his father as company president. Howard Heinz successfully rescued the company at the height of the Great Depression in 1931 by introducing two new product lines: ready-to-eat soups and baby food. popsop.com In Britain, Heinz Beanz on toast for breakfast has become a staple of the diet. In 1928, the British Heinz subsidiary stopped importing Heinz beans from the United States and Canada and began to produce its own, permitting cheaper, yet more popular, bean production. The Heinz Company would later strike marketing gold in 1967 with the U.K. advertising slogan "Beanz Meanz Heinz;" its success and hundreds of variations compares only to the "57 Varieties" campaign of a half-century earlier. Following the death of Howard Heinz in 1941, his son, H.J. "Jack" Heinz II took control of the company. He followed his grandfather's example of company growth by expanding the H.J. Heinz Co. domestically through acquisitions and internationally by launching Heinz subsidiaries.

Jack Heinz already had previous expansion experience, as he had directed the company's development in Australia during the 1930s. Although Heinz products had been available in Australia for 50 years, the company cemented its position there when it built a production plant in Richmond, Victoria, in 1934. The subsidiary, Heinz-Australia, would become the nation's largest food processing plant. When the company had its first public offering in 1946, sales figures revealed that the H.J. Heinz Company earned over $4 million in net profits. Strong sales internationally—particularly of Heinz canned beans in England and Australia—enabled such positive financial news. Success in the English and Australian markets encouraged the Heinz Co. to launch new subsidiaries in the Netherlands, Venezuela, Japan, Italy, and Portugal. Jack Heinz also began a new company practice of brand acquisition. The Heinz Co. purchased StarKist Foods, a tuna producer that was home to the cartoon mascot Charlie the Tuna, and Ore-Idea Foods, Inc., a top frozen potato company, in 1963 and 1965, respectively.

After twenty five years as president and chief executive, Jack Heinz stepped down amidst a changing food industry of supermarket chains and new distribution systems. Heinz.com Heinz Tomato Ketchup, the signature product of the Heinz Company in the United States At the end of an interim president and CEO period, the Heinz Co. named Anthony (Tony) J.F. O'Reilly the president of the corporation in 1973 and CEO in 1979. Due to his success managing the British Heinz subsidiary, O'Reilly was promoted to the chairperson position after the death of Jack Heinz in 1987. He was the first person outside the Heinz family promoted to the position of president. April Dougal Gasbarre in International Directory of Company Histories refers to the decades under O'Reilly's management as "The O'Reilly Revolution." O'Reilly set out to make the Heinz Co. more profitable while retaining its majority share in various markets. In his "nickel-and-dime" strategy, he cut costs by switching to thinner glass bottles for ketchup, decreasing the size of StarKist tuna cans, and reusing heat and water in Heinz factories.

However, O'Reilly continued in the Heinz tradition of brand acquisition, albeit more conservatively. These acquisitions were timely in light of supply and demand and the public health consciousness. In 1975, Heinz obtained Hubinger Company, a major manufacturer of high-fructose corn syrup; this new supply enabled Heinz to earn high profits when the price of sugar soared. Three years later, in 1978, O'Reilly acquired Weight Watchers International. When the obsession with fitness and calorie-conscious diets swept the country, the Heinz Co. cashed in with profits. In addition to these domestic acquisitions, O'Reilly expanded Heinz into the untapped markets of Asia and Africa. Heavy investments in Zimbabwe's Olivine Industries, Inc., earned Heinz a 51% controlling interest in the food manufacturer as of 1982 (resold to the Cotton Company of Zimbabwe in 2007). O'Reilly also initiated more expansion into the South Pacific, purchasing a majority share in Win-Chance Food of Thailand in 1987; Heinz quickly added tomato ketchup to the subsidiary's line of baby food and dairy products.

Effective acquisitions facilitated a decade of high profits in the 1980s. The growth of private labels products in supermarkets coupled by a small economic recession influenced O'Reilly to pursue a thorough reorganization of the global H.J. Heinz Company. In the United States, reorganization equaled the closing or sale of over a dozen plants and reductions in workforce and management employees. To reverse losing competition with private labels, Heinz cut back on advertising, shifting these resources to discounting popular products. Internationally, Heinz solidified its position in the Asia/Pacific sphere by purchasing New Zealand's Wattie's Limited in 1992 for $300 million. O'Reilly compared Wattie's to a "mini-Heinz;" the new subsidiary gave the Heinz Company a commanding control of the Australian market. Heinz.com/PACFTB Over the years, H.J. Heinz has acquired product brands to add to the “57 Varieties.” During the restructuring of the 1990s, Heinz exchanged new acquisitions with divestments of certain brands.

In 1994, Heinz purchased the All American Gourmet Company, the producers of the Budget Gourmet line of frozen entrees (resold to rival Luigino's in 2001). Pet food operations also expanded with the acquisition of the Kibble'n Bits (later sold to Del Monte in 2002), Gravy Train, and Ken-L Ration brands from the Quaker Oats Company in 1995. The major divestments included the sale of Hubinger Company in 1993, the foodservice operations of Ore-Ida in 1997 (Heinz retained the Ore-Ida retail rights), and the diet food unit of Weight Watchers in 1999 (although Heinz continues to produce products under the Weight Watchers brand). With his restructuring plans a vast success, O'Reilly stepped down to nonexecutive chairman, allowing William R. Johnson, a Heinz employee since the mid-1980s, to become president and CEO of the Heinz Company. Johnson continued the cautious acquisition and divestment practices of his predecessor, ensuring sustained success for Heinz brands into the twenty-first century.

Continuing in the successful advertising campaigns of "57 Varieties" and "Beanz Meanz Heinz," the Heinz Co. has had several other hit commercials in America. In the late 1970s, Heinz created a commercial to promote its rich, thick ketchup. The key scene features a close-up shot of ketchup slowly oozing out of a glass bottle, with the Carly Simon song "Anticipation" playing in the background. It ends with the slogan, "The taste that's worth the wait." (Click here to see the commercial at YouTube) Although getting ketchup out of a small-neck bottle can be a difficult and tedious task, Heinz claims this obstacle is only a minor setback. Over two decades later, Heinz would revisit to this iconic image of anticipation in a parody commercial that introduced its upside-down squeeze bottle of ketchup. The camera focuses on a woman waiting for her ketchup to pour out of a glass bottle, with Simon's "Anticipation" again in the background. However, the sound of squeezing ketchup from a bottle interrupts the song, and the camera shifts attention to the woman's chuckling spouse.

Packaged in squeezable plastic, this new ketchup is considerably easier to use than its predecessor. The commercial's ending slogan highlights this change, reading: "No Wait. No Mess. No Anticipation." See the commercial here . From founder H.J. Heinz to current CEO William R. Johnson, the Heinz Company has succeeded because of its commitment to quality—from food processing to end products—throughout the world. Part of this prosperity stems from loyalty to what biographer Robert C. Alberts refers to as H.J. Heinz's "8 Important Ideas:" 1. Housewives are willing to pay someone else to take over a share of their more tedious kitchen work. 2. A pure article of superior quality will find a ready market through its own intrinsic merit—if it is properly packaged and promoted. 3. To improve the finished product that comes out of the bottle, can, or crock, you must improve it in the ground, where and when it is grown. 4. Our market is the world. 5. Humanize the business system of today and you will have the remedy for the present discontent that characterizes the commercial world and fosters a spirit of enmity between capital and labor. 6.

Let the public assist you in advertising your products and promoting your name. 7. Earn the trust of the public for purity. 8. If people could work together in the Sunday School movement and use it to teach children to believe in the golden Rule, there might be lasting peace in the world. The "family wisdom" of the first seven ideas, accrued during four decades of managing his business, enabled H.J. Heinz to construct a celebrated brand now recognizable across the globe. As Gasbarre describes, the Heinz Company adheres to a "continuous revolution and renewal:" brand acquisitions like Ore-Ida and StarKist; necessary divestments like Hubinger and Weight Watchers; global expansion into Africa and the South Pacific; and memorable marketing campaigns "57 Varieties" and "Beanz Meanz Heinz." According to the Heinz Company's website, the firm earned over $10 billion in global revenue during Fiscal 2008. Eighty percent of Heinz revenue comes from six main categories: convenience meals, frozen foods, infant foods, pet food, tuna—and ketchup. In fact, sales figures suggest that Heinz sells over 600 million bottles of ketchup, its flagship condiment, every year.

However, Heinz ketchup is packaged in more just in bottles as the company provides the single-serving packets of ketchup to fast food giant McDonald's. On top of these domestic sales, the Heinz Co. earns a large portion its profits abroad—over 1.5 million cans of Heinz beans are sold in the United Kingdom every day. Heinz.com The Heinz Micronutrient Campaign is just one of the philanthropic endeavors of the Heinz Corporation and the Heinz family. While much of the money the Heinz Company has earned over the years has been reinvested in research, marketing, and acquisitions, a significant amount of the "ketchup money" has been donated to philanthropic endeavors. Many of these contributions stem from H.J. Heinz's 8th Important Idea and the desire to build good character and good citizenship. In its hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the Heinz Company remains an active face of the community. Heinz family members operate the Heinz Endowments, a 2007 merger of the Howard Heinz Endowment and the Vira I. Heinz Endowment.

Although not directly associated with the company, the privately-run Endowment contributes over $60 million in grants to nonprofit organizations annually. The Heinz Company has its own philanthropic institution, the H.J. Heinz Company Foundation, which supports numerous community projects in Greater Pittsburgh. These ventures include the Union Project, a social enterprise organization, and Big Brothers & Big Sisters, a mentoring program. This generosity is not limited to the United States, however. The Foundation's signature program, the Heinz Micronutrient Campaign (HMC), operates to combat "the global health menace of iron-deficiency anemia and vitamin and mineral malnutrition in the developing world," according to its campaign website. Since its launch in 2001, the HMC researches, develops, and distributes micronutrient packets, which contain a multivitamin and mineral powder, to children suffering from malnutrition in developing countries like China, India, and Indonesia. The campaign has already assisted over 2.5 million children, with a goal of 10 million children by 2010. This global community pledge provides the H.J. Heinz Company a clear outlook on its future: the altruistic improvement of world health from company earnings. The present H.J.

Heinz Company has redefined its founder's adage on business success in terms of society: "To do an uncommon thing commonly well brings success." Sources: Alberts, Robert C. The Good Provider: H.J. Heinz and His 57 Varieties. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1973. "Company News; Heinz Sells Budget Gourmet Frozen Lines to Luigino's." New York Times 10 Feb. 2001: C3. Dienstag, Eleanor Foa. In Good Company: 125 years at the Heinz Table, 1869—1994. New York: Warner, 1994. Gasbarre, April Dougal and David E. Salamie. "H.J. Heinz Company." International Directory of Company Histories. Ed. Jay P. Pederson. Detroit: St. James P. 36 (2001): 253—57. "History History." Heinz. 2008. 7 Jul. 2009. < "Heinz Micronutrient Campaign." Building a Better World: Report to the Community (2007).

Pittsburgh, PA: Heinz Company Foundation, 2007: 3—6. < Murray, Barbara. "H.J. Heinz Company." Hoovers, Inc. 2009. 7 Jul. 2009. < "Narrow Escape at World's Fair." New York Times 15 Nov. 1893: 5. Ndlela, Dumisani. "Olivine's Road Ahead Could Still be Rutted." BizCommunity.com. 16 Jan 2008. 13 July 2009. < Tedlow, Richard S. New and Improved: The Story of Mass Marketing in America. New York: Basic Books, 1990. "Welcome to Heinz Endowments." The Heinz Endowments. 2009. 13 Jul. 2009. <

Question: What was the first product sold by Heinz in 1869?
Answer: Horseradish