Ketch-up on Heinz History

Born in 1844 to John Henry and Anna Margaretta Heinz, Henry John Heinz grew up in Sharpsburg, Pa., the first of their nine children.

By age 12, Heinz was tending a small garden and selling the produce to local grocers along with his mother’s prepared horseradish.

After taking classes at Duff’s Mercantile College in Pittsburgh, he began helping his father with bookkeeping at his brickyard and even came to own a half-interest in the business.

Heinz credited his mother for his strong faith and work ethic, and for his love of motivational proverbs and aphorisms that he called “mottoes.”

He used them to decorate his company office, stained glass windows at the factory, and company exhibitions. Heinz’s favorite mottoes can be seen on the walls of his office.

Heinz’s first product would have been grated horseradish, but by 1895 the company also offered evaporated horseradish.

Evaporated came at a cheaper price point and could be stored for long periods at temperatures that would degrade the fresh product. Heinz became the largest manufacturer of Evaporated Horseradish by 1895.

The lab ensured the quality of produce, the accuracy of recipes and cooking procedures, the cleanliness of the manufacturing process, and the uniformity of finished products.

In the Quality Control Department, food technologists conducted research to improve the nutrition, flavor, and appearance of Heinz foods. One of the first of its kind, the Heinz Company lab pioneered a scientific approach to quality assurance and procedures.

H.J. Heinz cared about what he put inside the bottle, but he also realized that the package made the first, and often most important, impression.

He carefully crafted the bottles and containers for his products, even patenting some, and put great thought into the label design.

To draw visitors, he had small pieces of heavy paper cut to look like luggage tags and printed with an offer to the holder for a free souvenir at the Heinz exhibit. He scattered thousands of these tags throughout the fairgrounds.

It is estimated that over the course of the fair, hundreds of thousands of people climbed the stairs to the Heinz exhibit, where they tasted food samples and received a pickle charm.

A revolutionary concept in public relations, visitors were able to see Heinz food products being manufactured, from the can-making department to soup-filling machines to pickle bottling tables.

Each tour ended with complimentary samples of Heinz products and a pickle pin or charm to take home.

Tens of thousands of people, from school children to foreign tourists, visited the factory each year. The tours demonstrated the Heinz commitment to cleanliness, innovation, and pure foods, and reinforced the brand image.

The company stopped the tours in 1972, when automated production left little for visitors to see.