World news – CA – After six years of the controversial exit, Kraft Heinz is reintroducing ketchup to Canada

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Bottles of Heinz ketchup are on a shelf at a marketplace in Pittsburgh in February. 21, 2018.

After six years withdrawing ketchup production from Leamington, Ont. Decision that would help spark « ketchup wars » – Heinz returns to Canada.

On Tuesday, the Kraft Heinz Company. Kraft Heinz announced that most of the ketchup sold in Canada will be manufactured at its Montreal facility, starting this summer.. . The company will invest $ 17 million to build two new production lines, including a $ 2 million cancellable loan under the Quebec Government’s ESSOR program.. .

However, for the first two years, Heinz ketchup will continue to be made with U. s. Tomatoes planted. This will be important to some Canadian shoppers, who in recent years have begun to see the red things you eat on their burgers and fries as an unexpected symbol of national pride..

“Because of the increased agreements we’ve already entered into – given how farmers sell their crops – we won’t be able to do that in the short term.. But our goal is to use Canadian tomatoes in production in the future, ”said F. Maharaj, Managing Director of Kraft Heinz Canada. . Tomato paste will be made in the United States. s. For now, with ketchup processed and bottled in Quebec. “It will probably take a couple of years before we can solidify this.

Heinz’s PR headache began in 2014, when it moved Canadian ketchup production to U.S.A.. s. Pulling out of Leamington’s 740-strong plant and supporting several tomato growers in the area. Some of these jobs were rescued when Highbury Canco Corp.. He took over this plant and signed an agreement with Heinz to continue processing tomatoes for other products.

In late 2015, in an effort to promote its ketchup against a dominant competitor, the French began promoting their use of tomatoes grown in Canada.. She bought tomato paste from the Highbury Kanko Factory in Leamington. Although French ketchup was still made in the United States. s. At that time (it opened a factory in Toronto in 2017), and neither Heinz nor the French companies were owned by Canadian companies, some consumers began to see choosing their ketchup as a political decision.. The story spread on social media in 2016 as people bragged about switching allegiances.

“To this day, we are its biggest customer, Mr.. Maharaj said of the Leamington Factory, where Kraft Heinz makes products like ketchup and tomato juice. The company re-signed a five-year contract with the plant in 2019. “I would say we’re still part of Leamington. . . . We use tomatoes in our products more than the entire tomato ketchup market.

Despite the hype, Kraft Heinz says its ketchup market share hasn’t changed much; While sales are rising and falling, its share has remained relatively steady at around 75 percent, mr. Maharaj said. (Heinz merged with Kraft in 2015. )

“If others do their little bit of helping Canadian farmers, that’s great,” Mr.. Maharaj said in response to a question about the efforts the French are making to promote their Canadian relations. “I know we are doing our part, too.

Category is increasing; So far this year, sales of ketchup in Canada are up nearly 14 percent, according to Nielsen’s data for the period ending in October. . 24. This is part of a trend the company started noticing even before the COVID-19 pandemic affected grocery sales patterns.

Growing demand prompted the company to seek supply chain competencies, Mr.. Maharaj added that the KRG’s help made this an appropriate time for reproduction. Kraft Heinz plans to invest a total of $ 100 million to modernize its Montreal facility over the next few years; It already produces $ 2 billion worth of food annually, or 70 percent of the products Kraft Heinz sells in Canada, he said..

The company estimates that the Montreal facility will produce more than 100 million pounds of ketchup in its first two years. Production is slated to start in late summer 2021 and will add 30 factory jobs.

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Ketchup, Canada, Kraft Heinz Company