Why Heinz ketchup has been produced in clear bottles for 100 years

Ketchup is a product that we are used to seeing in a variety of packaging types. We rarely think about whether this popular sauce is sold in a transparent container or not. We are more interested in the composition of the product, the brand name and, of course, the price. Moreover, we do not notice the fact that one of the world-famous manufacturers always packs its ketchup exclusively in glass. This is the American company Heinz and its reason for its love of transparent packaging deserves you to know it.

Heinz ketchup can be called the number one tomato sauce in the whole world. This is the most common ketchup on the planet, which can be found in the most unexpected places. But the path of this brand to such recognition was thorny and, we can say that the choice of packaging played one of the decisive roles.

It all started with the fact that food manufacturer Henry Heinz, a staid and principled man, decided to create an ideal ketchup based exclusively on natural ingredients. It was in the 20s of the XX century and there was no question of any food standards yet, and each manufacturer could prepare ketchup according to his "exclusive" recipe.

Gypsum, crushed bricks and formaldehydes were common ingredients in American ketchups of those years. At the beginning of the last century, the strongest food lobby gathered in the US Congress, whose participants struggled to prevent the introduction of norms and standards that would deprive them of multimillion-dollar profits.

Heinz factory in the middle of the XX century Henry Heinz was one of the largest American industrialists working in the food industry since 1869, but he did not share the ideas of his colleagues in the shop. The entrepreneur was firmly convinced that the buyer, having paid the money, should receive exceptionally high-quality, safe and, importantly, delicious food.

Heinz set for traveling salesmen

To show the purity of his thoughts and to let consumers see for themselves the quality of Heinz ketchup, the industrialist packaged it in glass transparent bottles of the original shape.

Remaining a model of a conscientious entrepreneur, Heinz did not allow other firms to poison Americans. The businessman financed a small private laboratory in which competitors' products were analyzed and their quality was objectively assessed, followed by publication of the results in the press.

This approach was not to the liking of many in the government and at Henry Heinz was repeatedly put under serious pressure. But he always stood his ground and was not going to compromise with his conscience. We see that the businessman chose the right path, because of the hundreds of names of American ketchups that consumers have seen and tasted over the past century, only the Heinz trademark has survived and flourishes, and it sells its excellent ketchup in transparent packaging.Yes, did you know that on the side of every Heinz ketchup glass bottle there is a convex number 57? If you paid attention to it, you probably didn't understand why it was needed.