Famous Pittsburghers: H.J. Heinz

Written by Elisabeth Kay

Photo Courtesy of Wikipedia

Heinz is a global household name and the standard for condiments. But for Pittsburgh, it’s so much more than that– Heinz has been calling Pittsburgh home for nearly two centuries. But it all started with one man: Henry J. Heinz.

He was born and raised in Pittsburgh in the late 1800s, both of his parents having emigrated from Germany and meeting in the city. He founded Heinz while packing foodstuffs on a small scale, but soon created a horseradish recipe and sold it from clear bottles– this was different, as many companies at the time sold their sauces in brown bottles to obscure their lower grade ingredients. He didn’t though; Heinz has always been built off of honesty and transparency.

By the 1870s, Henry had introduced the most iconic of Heinz products: tomato ketchup, originally called “catsup.” This was hitting shelves everywhere, including overseas in London. The iconic slogan “57 Varieties” came to Henry when he saw an advertisement for a shoe company in an elevator which boasted “21 styles” of shoe. Though he had more than 60 products at this point, he chose 57 as his favorite number was 5 and his wife’s was 7. 

Henry watched Heinz grow globally during his time as founder, as Heinz Baked Beans became a bestseller in London alongside Heinz Salad Cream. After his passing in 1919, Heinz only went further– to getting a Royal Warrant from Queen Elizabeth and going to outer space after being cleared for use in NASA’s International Space Station. But Heinz only has one place to call home, and that’s Pittsburgh.