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BOTTLE NECK N’ NECK A misstep by Heinz may have laid the groundwork for French’s to become Canada’s condiment upstart, but there are still battles to be fought in the ketchup wars SO YOU THINK CANADA’S KETCHUP WARS are over? Not likely. The upstart French’s ketchup has made great strides in market share since Heinz closed its ketchup plant in Leamington, Ont., and moved production to the U.S. French’s, on the other hand, began making its ketchup using Canadian tomatoes from that same Leamington plant. French’s success is a matter of Canadian pride and loyalty, with a little bit of vengeance thrown in. Heinz was criticized for its move from Leamington. Interestingly, French’s ketchup is bottled in the U.S., but using Canadian tomatoes—it even says so on the label. The Heinz bottle’s neck label used to say “Proudly Prepared In Canada”, but that’s been discontinued. French’s upped the ante, striking a deal with Select Food Products of North York, Ont., to bottle French’s ketchup. It will still use the Leamington plant, now oper-
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ated by Highbury Canco Corp., to produce the paste from Leamington tomatoes. The ketchup wars went public earlier this year when an Orillia man’s Facebook post lamented the loss of Leamington’s Heinz plant. He was shocked that the company could stop using Canadian ingredients. The next day, he picked up French’s ketchup—made from tomatoes grown in Leamington and processed in the same plant Heinz once operated. His post hit a nerve with Canadians, and cries went out to boycott Heinz. Denunciations of Heinz in the Ontario legislature followed, as did threats to boycott Loblaw, which delisted French’s ketchup because they said it was harming sales of President’s Choice ketchup. The University of Windsor switched over to French’s, as did fast food chain A&W. The outcry and the change of heart were
January / February 2017 Canadian Grocer
STRIDES WERE TAKEN IN THE KETCHUP WARS THIS YEAR, BUT THE BATTLE ISN’T OVER YET. THE RACE WILL CONTINUE INTO 2017
George Condon is Canadian Grocer’s consulting editor. He’s based in Toronto. condug@sympatico.ca
immediate. French’s was back on Loblaw shelves, and Heinz filled stores with large displays of ketchup, often at promotional prices. According to news reports, Heinz made for a good villain. In 2013, it was bought by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway fund and Brazilian private equity group 3G Capital Management. True to form, the new owners began cutting costs and closing plants across North America. But the Leamington plant quickly found a buyer in Highbury Canco. And while Heinz now manufactures its ketchup in the U.S., the company has contracts with the Leamington factory to make Heinz tomato juice, pasta sauce and other products. French’s and Heinz aren’t the only players in the ketchup wars. In April, Primo launched what it called an all-Canadian ketchup. The tomatoes are sourced from Leamington, and the ketchup is made at a plant in Ontario. For now, French’s is enjoying a high. It may make ketchup with Leamington tomatoes, but the condiment itself isn’t manufactured at the plant—that is, until Select Food begins to bottle it in early 2017. It’s not clear whether ketchup giant Heinz lost much market share, but Brooke Gilliford, country manager for The French’s Food Company, says the push its ketchup received in the first few months has been sustained. She says that from nowhere to 9% national market share and levels of over 25% in some Ontario retailers is rewarding. She also notes not everyone is yet aware that for every bottle of French’s Ketchup sold the company donates one meal to Canada’s food banks. That will be over 1.5 million meals this year. Sure Heinz is No. 1, but if the Canadian support continues maybe French’s Ketchup will someday have a neck label that reads: “Proudly Made in Canada.” CG
PABLO IGLESIAS
George Condon