Did you know that each of Heinz’s nearly 100 tomato varieties has a name? There’s Caballero, which means “gentleman” and is an early variety resistant to mold, and Escarlata, which means “scarlet” and produces large fruit with a vibrant red color inside and out. Only a Heinz seed can grow a Heinz tomato. The unique, proprietary seeds have been perfected over generations for deliciously rich ketchup.
Heinz Tomatoes Superior in Taste and Resistant to Disease
The H.J. HEINZ Company began the tomato-breeding program in 1936 in Bowling Green, Ohio. The goal was to improve yield and build disease resistance. Since that time, the program has been continuous and has focused mainly on processing tomatoes adapted to the many countries where Heinz processes tomatoes.
Heinz cross-pollinates plants with the qualities we like, such as superior taste and disease resistance, to grow the ideal hybrid tomato. Seeds from these hybrids are then used to grow the next crop of tomatoes for our famous ketchup. Unlike genetically modified organisms, commonly called GMOs, Heinz Ketchup tomatoes are bred for perfection—the same way Henry Heinz did when he began making ketchup.
Heinz Officially Joins the Seed Trade
The commercial success of Heinz hybrids propelled Heinz into the industry seed trade in 1992. Heinz hybrids had established a reputation with growers for reliable high tonnage, firmness and high color with high viscosity. Six billion HeinzSeeds are supplied to farmers worldwide each year. Nearly a third of the world’s processing tomatoes are grown from HeinzSeed varieties. That is 2.5 million tons of tomatoes.
Great-tasting Heinz Ketchup is not the only good thing about HeinzSeeds. Because our tomato plants are high-yield and disease resistant, they need less water, use minimal pesticides and fertilizers, and take up less land.
