H.J. Heinz Company H.J. Heinz Company example essay topic

H.J. Heinz Company H.J. Heinz Company, commonly known as Heinz, famous for its "57 Varieties" slogan, was founded in 1869, by Henry John Heinz, in Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania. In 1869, the 25 year old Henry went into business with L. Clarence Noble as "Heinz & Noble". The first product they launched was none other than horseradish. The sauce was unique in that it was sold in clear glass bottles to display its purity, whereas competitors used colored glass to hide the poor quality of their products.

There was a reason that founder Henry John Heinz displayed his product in transparent bottles. He took a stand on quality and proudly displayed all of his products to the people and his competitors by using a clear bottle to show that his products where the real deal and the best. From the beginning of Heinz, the driving idea was quality, and quality is what made Heinz the company it is today. After horseradish came pickles, sauerkraut, and vinegar, delivered by horse-drawn wagons to grocers in and around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Processing, packing and the headquarters offices shared a two-story farmhouse in Sharpsburg, at the city's northern edge. But within five years, Heinz and partner L.C. Noble had to relocate to larger quarters because of their massive growth.

They were on their way to becoming one of the nation's leading producers of condiments. Heinz & Noble could count among its assets a hundred acres of garden along the Allegheny River - 30 acres of horseradish - along with 24 horses, a dozen wagons and a vinegar factory in St. Louis. After initial success, the company was forced into bankruptcy in 1875, a year of economic downturn and crop surplus. However, this successful young enterprise was not going to let the banking panic of 1875 stop it from becoming the world's leading tomato processor. After the banking crisis, Heinz started over with brother, John and cousin, Frederick, in 1875.

The new partnership with his brother and cousin, "H. & J. Heinz", came into being. In the depression brought on by the banking collapse, it was a difficult first year, but one in which a new product was introduced and would become its most well-known product - tomato ketchup. Red and green pepper sauce soon followed, then cider vinegar, apple butter, chili sauce, mincemeat, mustard, tomato soup, olives, pickled onions, pickled cauliflower, baked beans and the first sweet pickles ever brought to market. The American table was brightening. From that day on, Henry Heinz had hit on two of what he called the Important Ideas that were to shape his business: 1) That most people are willing to let someone else take over a share of their kitchen operations; and 2) That a pure article of superior quality will find a ready market through its intrinsic value - if properly packaged and promoted. Conventional wisdom now, these were bold conceptions in their day.

Later, Heinz added sequels: 3) To improve the product in glass or can, you must improve it while still in the ground; and 4) The world is our market. In 1886, Heinz traveled to England, and with him, along came seven varieties of their finest and newest goods at the time. He began distributing goods through Fort num & Mason, England's leading food purveyor. Ten years later, the first overseas office opened near the Tower of London, joined in 1905, by a factory in Peckham and in 1919, by a site in Harlesden that soon became the second English plant of Heinz.

Others were to follow until Heinz became a Purveyor to the Queen and most British food shoppers came to regard Heinz as a British company. On May 14, 1919, after a week's illness, Henry John Heinz died of pneumonia at the age of 75. He was succeeded by his son, Howard, who had already taken over much of the company's operations. By that time, the younger Heinz had introduced a regime of scientific processing and quality control into a system that included 25 factories and 200 smaller facilities, ranging from pickle salting stations to bottle plants and a seed farm. Through the Howard Heinz era, as in that of his father, all growth was internal; even overseas ventures were built from scratch. This continued to be the policy for most of the tenure of H.J. Heinz II, who became president in 1941.

The first exception was the acquisition of a food processor in the Netherlands in 1958, and soon the exception became the rule. In the next few years, companies were acquired in Italy, Portugal, Mexico, and several in the U.S. In 1966, R. Burt Gook in became president and the pace of acquisitions and growth quickened. By 1972, Heinz had reached the billion-dollar mark in sales, and it was then that the president reorganized the company under an international management team. He named Anthony J.F. O'Reilly as the managing director of the company's United Kingdom operations.

In 1972, O'Reilly became president and CEO. It was then, that Heinz became a leader in wellness and nutrition. During his presidency, some major company production bases were formed all the way from Spain, Portugal, New Zealand to challenging markets in China, South Africa, Russia, Czech Republic, Hungary, South Korea, India, Egypt, Botswana and Zimbabwe. William R. Johnson became the next president in 1996, CEO in 1998 and Chairman in 2000.

He continued Heinz's international growth strategy by acquiring new companies in the Netherlands, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, and Costa Rica. He launched growth and reorganization plans to focus on Meal Enhancers (ketchup, condiments and sauces) and Meals & Snacks (frozen meals, entrees and appetizers, and ambient soups, seafood, vegetables and pasta meals) which are well positioned across all demographic groups - from infants to teens to adults. H.J. Heinz Company today is an enterprise with over 110 major locations worldwide, with leading brands on six continents. Heinz brand names - such as Ore-Ida, Smart Ones, Bagel Bites, Farley's, Classico, ABC (soy sauces in Indonesia, the world's second largest soy source brand), UFC, Orlando, Plasmon, Wattie's, San Marco, Bio Diet erba, John West, Petit Navi re, Green seas, Wyler's, Honig (dry soups), Hak (vegetable in the Netherlands), DeRuijter, Olivine and Pudliski - appear on thousands of different products worldwide. Heinz also uses the famous names Weight Watcher, Boston Market, T.G.I. Friday's, Jack Daniel's and Linda McCartney under license. What is the major thrust of Heinz today? Today, Heinz management is convinced that quality and innovation are the way forward for Heinz.

Their goals are to enhance their performance, expand their margins, improve on customer service, and provide the employee of Heinz with a safe and satisfying work environment. Heinz vision is to be "The world's premier food company, offering nutritious, superior tasting foods to people everywhere". Heinz does not strive to be the biggest premier food company, but they do strive to be the best premier food company in terms of customer service, employee talent, and consistent and predictable growth. What exactly does this tomato loving company stand for and who are they?

Heinz has a proud tradition of Pure Foods, Quality and Good Stewardship. Their vision is supported by a set of values, which defines to the world who they are and what they stand for. Their values, which spell out PREMIER are: Passion... to be passionate about winning and about our brands, products and people, thereby delivering superior value to our shareholders. Risk Tolerance... to create a culture where entrepreneurship and prudent risk taking are encouraged and rewarded. Excellence... to be the best in quality and in everything we do.

Motivation... to celebrate success, recognizing and rewarding the achievements of individuals and teams. Innovation... to innovate in everything, from products to processes. Empowerment... to empower our talented people to take the initiative and to do what's right. And Respect... to act with integrity and respect towards all. Founder, H.J. Heinz, believed: "To do a common thing uncommonly well brings success". And since 1869, the company has supported that belief.

Today, H.J. Heinz Company is one of the world's leading marketers of branded foods to retail and food service channels. Heinz is the most global U.S. - based food company, with a world class portfolio of powerful brands holding number-one or number-two branded businesses in more than 50 world markets. The Heinz brand is a $2.5 billion global icon and Heinz's top-15 power brands account for two-thirds of annual sales. In food service, Heinz records $1.5. billion or nearly one-fifth of its annual sales to restaurants, diners, cafeterias and other away-from-home eating places. Heinz's Portion Pac unit is the number-one producer of single-serve pouches filled with condiments, jellies, sweeteners, dressings and syrups. Heinz Chairman, President and CEO William R. Johnson has given this dynamic 133-year-old company a stronger focus and a clear vision to become the world's premier food company in terms of growth, performance, and value.

Heinz has become a premier innovator in the good industry, spurring growth and achieving record market shares with exciting new ideas.