The H. J. Heinz Company (NYSE: HNZ), commonly known as Heinz and famous for its "57 Varieties" slogan and its ketchup, is an American food company with world headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Perhaps best known for its ketchup, the H.J. Heinz Company manufactures thousands of food products in plants on six continents and markets these products in more than 200 countries and territories. Heinz ranked first in ketchup in the United States with a market share in excess of 50%. Moreover, its Ore-Ida label held more than 50% of the frozen-potato sector. Overall, the company claims to have 150 number one or number two brands worldwide.

Henry John Heinz began selling horseradish from a horse drawn cart in 1869. Heinz emphasized the purity of his product and chose to use clear, colorless bottles and jars so customers could see for themselves exactly what they were buying. He went to great lengths to maintain clean conditions in his factories for employees, practicing a paternalistic approach to management and employer-employee relations, demonstrated by the auditorium, roof garden, dining rooms, and a library he constructed for the benefit of his employees.

Henry Heinz died at age 75 in 1919. At that time, the company had a workforce of 6,500 employees and maintained 25 branch factories. Heinz was succeeded as president of the company by his son, Howard, who began his career with H.J. Heinz as advertising manager in 1905 and became sales manager in 1907. In 1931, at the height of the Great Depression, Howard Heinz saved the company by branching into two new areas: ready-to-eat soups and baby food. He remained president until his death in 1941. In 1939, Fortune estimated total sales for the still privately owned company at $105 million.

By the time Howard's son H.J. Heinz II (known as Jack) became president of the company at his father's death, he had worked in all the company's divisions, from the canning factories to the administrative offices. He chose to launch his career as a pickle-salter for $1 a day in the Plymouth, Indiana plant. Later he became part of the cleanup staff, then a salesperson for H.J. Heinz Company, Ltd. in England. In 1935, fresh out of Cambridge University, Jack Heinz was sent by his father to establish a plant in Australia. Heinz-Australia later became that country's biggest food processing plant.

From 1941, when Jack took over, to 1946, H.J. Heinz's sales nearly doubled. That year, Heinz made its first public stock offering and revealed that its net profit was more than $4 million. Foreign sales of baked beans and ketchup, particularly in England, contributed substantially to the company's success. During World War II, Jack Heinz was active in food relief and personally made four wartime trips to England to examine food problems there. The company insignia went to war, too; the 57th Squadron of the 446th Army Air Force chose for its emblem a winged pickle marked '57.'

Jack Heinz's tenure was distinguished by expansion of the company, both internationally and at home. Subsidiaries were launched in the Netherlands, Venezuela, Japan, Italy, and Portugal. In 1960 and 1961, the H.J. Heinz Company acquired the assets of Reymer & Bros., Inc. and Hachmeister, Inc. StarKist Foods was acquired in 1963 and Ore-Ida Foods, Inc. in 1965.

During the 25 years that H.J. Heinz II was chief executive, the food industry changed greatly. The era was marked by the rise of supermarket chains and the development of new distribution and marketing systems. In 1966, H.J. Heinz II stepped down as president and CEO, though he retained his position as chairperson until his death in February 1987.

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