H. J. Heinz Company

An 8-year-old Henry John Heinz began his entrepreneurial career in 1852 selling extra vegetables from his mother’s garden; seven years later, he started bottling and selling horseradish. In 1869, Heinz and L. Clarence Noble launch Heinz and Noble, selling horseradish in clear glass bottles, using clear bottles rather than green glass (traditionally used for horseradish) to highlight the product’s purity. In 1876, Heinz joined with two of his relatives to launch F & J Heinz, selling Heinz Tomato Ketchup for the first time. Ten years later, production expanded to England. Heinz Ketchup was first sold in its iconic octagonal-shaped glass bottle in 1890, an example of which was found at the Charnley-Persky House and can be seen below. Heinz’s famous “57 Varieties” campaign was born in 1896 when, famously, Henry Heinz saw an advertisement for “21 varieties” of shoes while riding a train in New York City; at the time, Heinz sold more than 60 products, but the number 57 stuck out to him. The 1916 advertisement below uses the slogan, and it remains in use today Heinz died in 1919 at 75, and the company was run by the Heinz family until 1966 when the first non-family member CEO took charge and expanded the company globally. The company was acquired by Warren Buffett’s investment firm in 2013 for $26 billion and continues to produce “America’s Favorite Ketchup.”

Ryan J. Cook (photograph)

Ryan J. Cook (photograph)
Public Domain (advertisement)

The Ladies’ Home Journal. Family Media. Volume 33. 1916. (advertisement)