Heinz Tomato Ketchup

A bottle of Heinz Tomato Ketchup.

Heinz Tomato Ketchup is a brand of ketchup produced by the H. J. Heinz Company. It is the highest-selling product the company has ever distributed. The "tomato" in the name is because at the time of introduction, ketchup sauces based on other ingredients were common.

History

First introduced in 1876, Heinz Tomato Ketchup remains one of the best selling brands of ketchup.[1] From 1906 it was produced without preservatives.[2] In 1907, Heinz started producing 13 million bottles of ketchup per year, exporting ketchup all over the world, including India, Australia, South America, Japan, Indonesia, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom. Heinz ketchup is often served at restaurants in the United States and Canada, as well as many other countries. As a condiment for many foods, such as french fries, chips, hamburgers and hot dogs, Heinz ketchup uses the slogan, "America's Favorite Ketchup." As of 2012, there are more than 650 million bottles of Heinz Tomato Ketchup being sold every year throughout the world.[3]

In January 2009, the label design was altered, with the illustration of a gherkin pickle that had adorned the label since the 1890s removed and replaced with an illustration of a vine-ripened tomato accompanied by the slogan "Grown not made".[4]

Production

Most of the world's Heinz tomato ketchup is made in the main U.S. plant at Fremont, Ohio, and in Leamington, Ontario, for the Canadian market (Both plants are located on opposite sides of Lake Erie).

Besides glass bottles, Heinz ketchup comes in squeezable plastic containers and single-serving packets.[5] In 2000, Heinz introduced colored ketchup products called EZ Squirt, which were targeted towards young children.[6] The product was available in a squeezable container and was eventually discontinued in 2006. Green, purple, pink, orange, teal, and blue colored ketchups were also available for a limited time. In 2010, Heinz unveiled a new single serve cup for dipping and squeezing, called the Dip & Squeeze, that will eventually replace the original packets.[7]

In a recent American Customer Satisfaction Index poll of 10,644 consumers, H.J. Heinz Co. had the highest score of any food or beverage firm, higher than Kraft, Coca-Cola, and Nestlé.[8]

Varieties

In addition to the standard ketchup variety, Heinz offers two varieties known as "Organic" and "Simply Heinz".[9] Both of these varieties' ingredients contain sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup.[10] In 2012, a criminal scheme that repackaged bulk standard ketchup into bottles with counterfeit "Simply Heinz" labels failed when the transferred ketchup began to ferment and explode.[11]

Heinz also offers some flavor variations, such as Hot Ketchup, Jalapeno Ketchup and Sweet Onion Tomato Ketchup.

Glass bottle design

The relatively high viscosity and pseudoplastic[12] nature of ketchup can make pouring it from a glass bottle somewhat difficult and unpredictable.[12] According to the Heinz trivia website ketchup exits the bottle at a speed of 0.0450 kilometres per hour (0.0125 m/s; 0.0410 ft/s).[13] The website also notes that hitting the "57" mark on a glass Heinz ketchup bottle makes the ketchup pour out more quickly and easily.[13] The New York Times also notes that Heinz placed the "57" mark on that particular spot of the bottle as the best place for consumers to hit for the ketchup to pour smoothly.[14] The Heinz website claims that only 11% of consumers know this fact.[13] However, while the number "57" is used for the function of pouring, the number "57" refers to all the different types of products that the company offers. The company actually manufactured 60 products by the time Henry Heinz introduced the number "57" on his ketchup bottles. He thought the number "57" was lucky and continues to use it today.[15]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "FOOD INDUSTRIES IN THE MID-ATLANTIC REGION." The Greenwood Encyclopedia of American Regional Cultures: The Mid-Atlantic Region. Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2004. Credo Reference. Web. 01 October 2012.
  2. ↑ http://www.heinz.com/our-food/products/ketchup.aspx
  3. ↑ "The First Name in Ketchup". H. J. Heinz Company. 21 October 2010.
  4. ↑ HEINZ® KETCHUP RETIRES THE PICKLE FROM ITS LABEL AFTER 110 YEARS: VINE-RIPENED TOMATO TAKES “CENTER STAGE” ON TABLES ACROSS THE U.S.
  5. ↑ Simoncini, Melissa. Heinz Ketchup: A 135-Year History of Innovation. 2011. PDF. HeinzWeb. 5 Oct 2012. <http://www.heinz.com/data/pdf/ketchuptimeline.pdf>.
  6. ↑ Simoncini, Melissa. Heinz Ketchup: A 135-Year History of Innovation. 2011. PDF. HeinzWeb. 5 Oct 2012. <http://www.heinz.com/data/pdf/ketchuptimeline.pdf>.
  7. ↑ Pearson, Jake and Jose Martinez (February 4, 2010). "A classic gets revamped! Heinz gives ketchup packet a makeover". NYDailyNews.com (New York).
  8. ↑ Higgins, Kevin (January–February 2004). "Competition Can't Ketchup to Heinz". Marketing Management 13 (1): 22–25.
  9. ↑ Simoncini, Melissa. Heinz Ketchup: A 135-Year History of Innovation. 2011. PDF. HeinzWeb. 5 Oct 2012. <http://www.heinz.com/data/pdf/ketchuptimeline.pdf>.
  10. ↑ Simoncini, Melissa. Heinz Ketchup: A 135-Year History of Innovation. 2011. PDF. HeinzWeb. 5 Oct 2012. <http://www.heinz.com/data/pdf/ketchuptimeline.pdf>.
  11. ↑ Goldberg, Dan (18 October 2012). "Counterfeit ketchup caper: Exploding bottles leave major mess in Dover". The Star-Ledger. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Barry, Patrick L.; Phillips, Tony (10 August 2004). "The Great Ketchup Mystery". First Science.com. Retrieved 2009-06-09.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 Heinz.com. Retrieved April 28, 2011.
  14. ↑ Rawsthorn, Alice (12 April 2009). "An Icon, Despite Itself". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-06-09.
  15. ↑ http://www.heinz.com/our-company/press-room/trivia.aspx

External links