America’s refrigerators are about to seem a lot emptier, because a giant of the condiment scene is bowing out: Heinz just made an announcement that it will stop producing ketchup because the thrill is gone.
Nothing lasts forever, but it’s still sad saying goodbye to one of the greats.
“Heinz has proudly produced the world’s favorite ketchup since 1876, but somewhere along the way that electric feeling of filling yet another bottle just faded away,” Heinz stated in a press release revealing its decision. “Churning out gallon after gallon of delicious ketchup used to give us a rush like nothing else, but lately it feels like we’re just going through the motions. We tried to recapture some of that original magic with wild experiments like upside-down bottles and our ill-fated “Funky Purple” color, but the spark we lost never really came back, and it’s time for us to accept that and shutter the H.J. Heinz Company for good.”
Despite closing down their billion-dollar company, Heinz seemed to be at peace with walking away from ketchup production, and thanked its customers for helping it experience the wild world of ketchup manufacturing. “The giddy exhilaration of shipping those first 40 million bottles is something we’ll always treasure. But this once-thrilling process just feels hollow to us now, and it’s time for us to step back and let the next generation of condiment producers make a name for themselves.”
Wow. It’s shocking that Heinz is shutting down while it is still at the top of the condiment world, but it doesn’t make sense to keep producing ketchup if it no longer brings the company joy. Congrats on the legendary run, Heinz. The rest of the ketchup industry has some pretty big shoes to fill.
