Why Do Heinz Ketchup Bottles Have the Number 57 on Them?

To unpack this one, let's start with another number – 1844. That's the year Henry John Heinz was born in Birmingham, Pennsylvania. Henry's interest in selling food peaked early in his life, and by the age of 16, he engaged several employees to deliver produce to grocers across Pittsburgh. This first business, Heinz Noble & Company, which focused on horseradish (made using his mother's traditional recipe and grown in the family garden), suffered due to a widespread financial panic in 1873 and went bankrupt in 1875. Henry recovered, however, and in 1876, in partnership with his cousin Frederick Heinz and brother John, he founded F & J Heinz.

H.J. HEINZ COMPANY

Heinz's famous tomato ketchup was launched that same year. The product, which consisted of just five everyday ingredients, was originally named 'catsup' and was the company's first product to be sold via the prestigious Fortnum & Mason store in London, UK. Ten years later, Heinz Baked Beans launched in the same store, quickly becoming one of the UK's favorite foods. In 1888, Henry became sole owner of the enterprise, and the business rebranded as H.J. Heinz Company – the name by which it is known to this day. By 1900, the company was the largest manufacturer of tomato-based products in the world. 

WHY 57?

Henry sadly passed in 1919, but lived long enough to see the fruits of his passion outgrow his wildest dreams. It was Henry himself who came up with the now-famous '57 Varieties' slogan, which first appeared in 1896. He was inspired by an advertisement for shoes he saw whilst in New York City that stated '21 styles' were available. Interestingly, by 1896, the H.J. Heinz Company sold over 60 products. So why did Henry choose 57? Henry himself explained that five and seven were the lucky numbers of himself and his wife, respectively, and that he also thought seven was a significant number in general, no doubt due to its long-standing association with mysticism and good fortune. Whatever the true reason, 57 has become synonymous with Heinz products and is well known the world over, so we can certainly say Henry's idea was a success.

TOMATOES AND BEYOND

No doubt Henry would have been delighted to know that, in 1954, Queen Elizabeth II granted his company a Royal Warrant, meaning that it became an official supplier to Royal households. Heinz's products have even made it into space, becoming officially approved by NASA for their use on the International Space Station during the 1990s.

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