Voting Station

H.J. Heinz

Please vote to return to collections.

Entrepreneur

The Resume

    (October 11, 1844-May 14, 1919)
    Founded H.J. Heinz Co., maker of Heinz Ketchup, Star-Kist Tuna, Ore-Ida, and many other food products.
    His company is known for its '57 Varieties'

Why he might be annoying:

    When he started the '57 Varieties' ad campaign in 1896, his company had more than that many varieties of foods in production.
    He chose '57' because the numbers 5 and 7 held some special significance to his wife.
    He went bankrupt in 1875.
    His ketchup comes out of the bottle very, very slowly.
    Today, his company employs Charlie the Tuna, and it sells Linda McCartney's line of vegetarian products.
    Heinz company had a deal to pay Joe Dimaggio $1,000,000 if his hitting streak went to 57 games, it only went to 56 (1941).

Why he might not be annoying:

    He believed in quality first, and in 1869, the year he founded the company, he packaged his first product, horseradish, in clear bottles, something unheard of at the time.
    Most companies back then would put their horseradish in green bottles, to hide all the foreign objects and fillers that got into the condiment.
    He chose clear bottles to show customers that his products were totally edible and free of impurities.
    His grandson, H. John Heinz III, was killed in a plane crash while serving in the U.S. Senate.
    After his bankruptcy in 1875, he started over, and began selling the now-famous ketchup which launched his company into immortality.
    He was the first to sell sweet pickles to consumers.
    He gave to many charities.
    He treated his employees well, and never had a strike at his company during his tenure.
    Carly Simon's hit song 'Anticipation' was used in a famous commercial for Heinz ketchup in the 1970's.
    His ideas for product quality and marketing were considered cutting-edge in his day, but today they've become standard.

Credit: Gregg


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 10 Votes: 30.0% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 6 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 5 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 8 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 8 Votes: 62.50% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 7 Votes: 28.57% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 18 Votes: 44.44% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 7 Votes: 28.57% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 19 Votes: 15.79% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 14 Votes: 57.14% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 22 Votes: 36.36% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 58 Votes: 39.66% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 34 Votes: 41.18% Annoying
    In 2007, Out of 120 Votes: 47.50% Annoying
    In 2006, Out of 124 Votes: 47.58% Annoying
    In 2005, Out of 220 Votes: 43.64% Annoying
    In 2004, Out of 355 Votes: 41.69% Annoying
    In 2003, Out of 828 Votes: 42.39% Annoying
    In 2002, Out of 449 Votes: 35.41% Annoying