H. J. Heinz was founded when Henry J. Heinz began packing foodstuffs in Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania in 1869.
He founded Heinz Noble & Company and began to sell horseradish. This company failed and he started another company, F&J Heinz with his brother John Heinz and cousin Frederick Heinz. One of the company’s first products was tomato ketchup.
In 1888 the company reorganized as the H.J. Heinz Company with its slogan “57 Varieties.”
Today Heinz is still known for its “57 Varieties” slogan and ketchup.
The food processing company manufactures thousands of food products in plants on six continents. The products are marketed in more than 200 countries and territories worldwide.
In 2013 Heinz was purchased 3G Capital (50%) and Berkshire Hathaway (50%) for $23 billion.
Heinz is #26 on the list of Forbes Largest Private Companies, is #234 on the Fortune 500, is #418 in the FT Global, and had $11.64 billion in revenue in 2012.
