H. J. HEINZ COMPANY

'H. J. Heinz Company' (), commonly known as 'Heinz', famous for its "57 Varieties" slogan, is a processed food product company with its headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States of America.

Contents

History

“57 Varieties”

Corporate governance

2006 Proxy Battle

Brands of H.J. Heinz Company

Heinz products around the world

Australia

Philippines

Canada

India

Netherlands

Trivia

Notes

References

External links

History

The company was founded in 1869 by Henry John Heinz in Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania, United States — a borough adjoining Pittsburgh. Heinz, then 25 years old, began by delivering processed condiments to local grocers by horse-drawn wagon. The company's first product was horseradish, followed by pickles, and tomato ketchup.
The company was originally named the Anchor Pickle and Vinegar Works, and was run by Heinz and partner L. C. Noble. The name changed to Heinz, Noble & Company in 1872 when E. J. Noble became joint owner and the company relocated to nearby Pittsburgh.
After a banking panic forced him into bankruptcy in 1875, Heinz restarted his business with the help of his brother John and his cousin Frederick, and in the following year the company introduced what would become its most well-known product: tomato ketchup. The new company was known as F. & J. Heinz until 1888, when Henry bought a controlling interest from his brother and gave the business its current name.

The company's famous slogan, "57 Varieties", was chosen by Mr. Henry Heinz in 1892 after he saw an advertisement for "21 varieties of shoes" in an elevated train car in New York. In actuality, the company was producing over sixty different products at the time, but Heinz chose the number 57 because the numbers "5" and "7" held a special significance for him and his wife (H.J. Heinz Company Heinz - Consumer FAQs Retrieved Oct 25 2006).
Another famous slogan is "Beanz Meanz Heinz", used in the 1960s and beyond to advertise their baked beans in the United Kingdom. Variations of this slogan were used over time, such as "A million housewives every day pick up a tin of Beans and say, Beanz Meanz Heinz", or "Don't be mean with the Beans Mum, Beanz Meanz Heinz". The slogan was put in abeyance during the 1990s, and officially dropped in favor of "Heinz Buildz Britz" c.1996, but after a surprise decline in sales, the new slogan was quickly dropped. In 2002, the company used the nostalgia that by this time surrounded the slogan by running a campaign called "Keep it or can it?" in which Heinz ads from the 1960s and 1970s were re-run, with the addition of an invitation to the public to vote on whether the slogan should be kept. The result was, as expected, a massive majority in favour of keeping the slogan. This, however, was not immediately acted upon, with Heinz's subsequent ad campaign using the slogan "The bean. The superbean." instead, although in 2004 they started spelling "Baked Beanz" with a "z" on their beans, which is seen as a reminder of the slogan, and in 2006 it was announced that the company are planning to re-introduce the slogan in a future campaign. From 2007 the company is again using the slogan "Beanz Meanz Heinz" in its campaigns.
In 1919 Henry Heinz died, and control of the company passed to his son, Howard Heinz, who was then succeeded by H. J. Heinz II, in 1941.
Tony O'Reilly made his name in international business at H. J. Heinz & Co. He joined the company in 1969 to become MD of the Heinz subsidiary in the UK. He moved to the company HQ in Pittsburgh in 1971 when he was promoted to Senior Vice President. In 1973, he became COO and president.
He became CEO in 1979 and chairman in 1987, succeeding H. J. Heinz II, and was the first non-Heinz family member to hold that post. His guidance helped to transform the company into a major international competitor, increasing the company's value fifteenfold. O'Reilly left Heinz in 1998 in response to shareholder pressure; he was replaced by William R. Johnson. It is reported that O'Reilly still has a 2% shareholding in Heinz.
By 1972, sales had reached the billion dollar mark. Today, Heinz sells more than 1,300 products worldwide ranging from ketchup to baby food.
H. J. Heinz II's son was United States Senator from Pennsylvania John Heinz, who died in a plane crash on April 4, 1991. His widow, Teresa, married U.S. Senator from Massachusetts John Kerry in 1995. Kerry ran unsuccessfully for President in 2004. Thanks to Teresa Heinz Kerry, the 2004 presidential campaign gave the Heinz Company considerable publicity.

“57 Varieties”

Heinz’s slogan for over a century has been “57 Varieties” even though when it was established Heinz had over 60 products. H.J. Heinz’s biography gives the reasoning for the choice of the number 57:
The first of the "57 Varieties" to be introduced by Heinz:

★ 1869 - Horseradish

★ 1870 - Sour gherkins

★ 1870 - Mixed sour pickles

★ 1870 - Chow chow pickle

★ 1870 - Sour onions

★ 1870 - Prepared mustard

★ 1870 - Sauerkraut in crocks

★ 1873 - Heinz & Noble catsup

★ 1873 - Vinegar

★ 1876 - Tomato ketchup

Corporate governance

Current members of the board of directors of the corporation are: Charles Bunch, Leonard Coleman, John Drosdick, Edith Holiday, Candace Kendle, Dean O'Hare, Nelson Peltz, Dennis H. Reilley, Lynn Swann, William R. Johnson, Michael Weinstein and Thomas Usher.

2006 Proxy Battle

Billionaire Nelson Peltz initiated a proxy battle during 2006, culminating in a vote to place Peltz's nominees on the Board, which, depending on how many seats the dissident group received after the final vote tally, would displace some of the current board members. After the final vote, 2 out of the 5 nominees joined the Heinz Board. The new members of the board were Nelson Peltz and Michael Weinstein.

Brands of H.J. Heinz Company

★ ABC soy sauce, the world's second largest behind Kikkoman (Indonesia) ★ Bagel Bites - Frozen snacks (United States) ★ Black Tie Hors D'oeuvres and Desserts - (United States) ★ Brinta - Porridge (Netherlands) ★ Boston Market - Frozen meals and side dishes, licensed by the fast food chain (United States) ★ Catelli - Pastas and sauces (Italy, Canada) ★ Classico - Premium sauces (Italy) ★ Complan - Milk Food Drinks (India) ★ Delimex - (Mexico) ★ Del Monte - (United States) ★ Farley's - (United Kingdom) ★ Greenseas - (Australia) ★ Glucon D - Energy Drinks (India) ★ Guloso - (Portugal) ★ Honig - Soups and pasta (Netherlands) ★ Heinz Baked Beans - Baked Beans (United Kingdom) ★ Heinz Organic Ketchup - (World Wide) ★ Heinz Chutneys - Flavored Dips - (India) ★ Heinz 57 Sauce - (United States) ★ Heinz Top-Down Ketchup - (World Wide) ★ Heinz Vinegar - (United Kingdom) ★ HP Foods - Sauces (United Kingdom) ★ Jack Daniel's - Grilling sauce (United States) ★ Karvan Cévitam - Fruit Juice syrup (Netherlands)

★ Koninklijke De Ruijter - Chocolate sprinkles (Netherlands) ★ Kwatta - Chocolate Paste (Belgium) ★ Lea & Perrins - (United Kingdom) ★ Nancy's - (United States) ★ Nenerina - (Venezuela) ★ Olivina - (Zimbabwe) ★ Ore-Ida - Frozen potatoes (United States) ★ Orlando - Tomatoes (Spain) ★ Petrosoyuz - Russia's largest condiments maker (Russia) ★ Plasmon - (Italy) ★ Polly - (Venezuela) ★ Roosvicee - Drinks (Netherlands) ★ Smart Ones - low-fat frozen meals (under the Weight Watchers name) (United States) ★ Sonrissa Gelatine - (Venezuela) ★ Starkist - Tuna (United States) ★ T.G.I. Friday's - Under License (United States) ★ TinyTums - (United Kingdom) ★ UFC ketchups - (United States) ★ Venz - Chocolate Sprinkles (Netherlands) ★ Wattie's - (New Zealand) ★ Wylers - (United States)

Heinz products around the world

Australia

In Australia, Heinz is best known for tinned baked beans in tomato sauce, and spaghetti in a similar sauce. Heinz's canned soup lines are widely recognised in Australia. Heinz manufactures condensed soup, as well as "ready to eat" soups - these are offered in single serve packaging as well as the traditional sized cans.
Their most iconic product is Heinz BIG RED Tomato Sauce, although the US style ketchup is also available.
Heinz Australia also manufactures a number of flavoured baked bean varieties, as well as canned meals.
Heinz also markets the Watties brand of canned foods, which are made in New Zealand.

Philippines

In the Philippines, Heinz is a part of NutriAsia, which owns other bigger brands in the condiments industry, such as UFC (banana ketchup, tomato and spaghetti sauce), Datu Puti (vinegar, soy sauce and fish sauce), Mang Tomas (gravy, barbecue sauce, oyster sauce and all-purpose sauce), Jufran(chili sauce and banana ketchup) and Papa (banana ketchup). Heinz is most famous as a brand of tomato sauce and spaghetti sauce in the country rather than being a tomato ketchup brand, which is being dominated by Del Monte Pacific, also recently acquired by a consortium of NutriAsia and San Miguel Corporation.
The Heinz brand is the 3rd largest tomato sauce (behind Del Monte and Hunt's) and the 2nd largest spaghetti sauce brand (behind Del Monte) in the country.
As of March 2006, Heinz and Nutriasia have ended their joint-venture partnership and Heinz products are now distributed by Getz bros.

Canada

Heinz was established in Canada in 1908 in Leamington, Ontario (Tomato Capital of Canada). The products are shipped from Leamington with English and French labels mostly to the United States.

India

Heinz Ketchup is available in glass bottles in India with two varieties, one is the normal Heinz Ketchup, and one is an alternative which does not contain any traces of garlic or onion, two vital ingredients in the original ketchup. This is due to the large amount of Indians who refrain from eating garlic and onion for religious and cultural reasons.
Heinz has acquired Complan, Glucon D & Nycil.

Netherlands

H.J. Heinz Company acquired CSM Food Division (CFD) of CSM NV. With the acquisition Heinz bought the brands De Ruijter, Venz, Karvan Cévitam, Roosvicee, Honig, Baukje, Brinta, Saroma and HAK. This was one of the biggest acquisition Heinz made outside of North America.
On 17 October 2005 Heinz announced that it would sell the brand HAK to the investment company NPM. Along with the desinvesture the plant in Giessen was sold to the company. The market share of HAK was around 60% in the Netherlands
Heinz has various numbers of factories in Belgium and the Netherlands. The locations are Turnhout, Baarn, Elst, Nijmegen and Utrecht. In 2007 Heinz moved manufacturing from Baarn to its factory in Utrecht

Trivia

★ In the 1962 film adaptation of ''The Manchurian Candidate'', Mrs. John Iselin, the villainess of the story, tells her McCarthy-like senator husband to settle on the number of Communists he says are in the Department of Defense, as he keeps changing the numbers when questioned. They eventually settle on the number 57 after Mrs. Iselin sees him using a bottle of Heinz ketchup, known for its 57 varieties.

★ In the early 1990s Heinz 57 brand ketchup sponsored the #57 NASCAR Winston Cup Series Pontiac Grand Prix driven by fellow Pennsylvania native Jimmy Spencer.

★ In 2001 the Food Standards Agency of the Government of the United Kingdom found Heinz canned baked beans products to be contaminated with the hormone disruptor bisphenol.^[1]

★ In 2004, Argentine football player Gabriel Heinze, upon signing for Manchester United, chose 57 as his squad number for the season, but was later convinced to change it to the more conventional 4. NHL Player Steve Heinze also used the number.

★ Heinz paid "$57" million for naming rights to Heinz Field (Home of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pitt Panthers), in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania where it has its headquarters.

★ The Heinz labels are designed in the shape of a keystone. This is due to the fact that Heinz is headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and Pennsylvania is known as the keystone state.

★ Heinz's Tomato Ketchup contains small amounts of celery.

★ Heinz is one of three major companies to include organic foods in its list of products. The others are PepsiCo and Campbells .

★ Although the company is headquartered in Pittsburgh, a majority of its ketchup is produced at a factory in Fremont, Ohio

★ An online competition, in association with YouTube!, was announced in 2007, in which the public could create a 30 second commercial advertising Heinz ketchup. The competition ran through August of 2007, after which a panel of judges will reward the creator of the best commercial with $57,000 and run it in a national ad. There will also be four runners up who will win $5,700 and also receive the honor of a national ad. The contest can be found at http://TopThisTV.com.

★ The Goodies spoofed the Heinz baked beans adverts in their programmes. Tim Brooke-Taylor was the beans boy and, because he could never get the poem right, was always hurt.

★ Only four people in the world know the Heinz Baked Bean recipe at any one time.

Notes

1. http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/press_releases/20010508144446.html

References

★

External links

★ Heinz History

★ Historic Pittsburgh - Electronic version of Heinz's biography pp. 147

★ Cecil Adams' The Straight Dope

★ Heinz BIG RED Tomato Sauce (Australian flagship product)

★ Company Website ('Company Info' section of the site, briefly running through HJ Heinzs' history)
1. http://www.foe.co.uk/resource/press_releases/20010508144446.html