First Cafe Owner is Fingered by Long Arm of the Ketchup Law

www.heinz.com | Today | Brainhose

[Brainhose]

Business Editors

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 4, 2003--Heinz has cautioned the first cafe owner to be caught filling its famous ketchup bottles with cheap sauce. Carlos Costa, 53, owner of the Oasis cafe in Paddington, West London, admitted to the subterfuge when confronted by two 'Ketchup Police' officers yesterday. "When I saw the officers I thought I might be in trouble with the real law," he said. Since launching its Ketchup Police initiative last week the firm has received dozens of tip offs from members of the public who suspect that their local cafe is a ketchup cheat. "The officers will call on establishments reported to us and challenge the owners if they suspect the complaint is genuine," said Jane Scott, marketing manager. "We have no plans to involve Trading Standards officers. Our hope is that a visit from the ketchup police will be enough to encourage the owners to mend the error of their ways." Heinz is not sure how widespread the problem is. The company has a huge business servicing cafes, bars and restaurants and it believes that a majority of establishments are honest but it is keen to root out the law-breakers. "When someone pours ketchup from a Heinz bottle they have a right to expect it is Heinz ketchup inside," said Jane Scott. "The Heinz taste is unique so this practice - commonly known as 'tipping' - can undermine people's confidence in the brand. In the US Heinz has introduced non-refillable bottles for foodservice outlets but the company does not have plans to introduce the bottles in the UK at this stage. "We appreciate that cafes are small businesses and their proprietors are just trying to make a living," said Jane Scott, "so we don't want to be too heavy handed about it. But cheating on the ketchup won't increase their profitability significantly and it risks damaging our reputation."

--30--SLB/cl*

CONTACT: Heinz Michael Mullen, 44 208 848 2403

KEYWORD: PENNSYLVANIA INTERNATIONAL EUROPE INDUSTRY KEYWORD: RESTAURANTS RETAIL FOODS/BEVERAGES SOURCE: Heinz

[Brainhose]

"Big Ketchup" comes down on the little guy.

[Johnny_Cipher]

Carlos Costa, 53, owner of the Oasis cafe in Paddington, West London, admitted to the subterfuge when confronted by two 'Ketchup Police' officers yesterday.

They have "Ketchup Police" now?

Just shoot me.

[lelio]

Just how expensive is Heinz versus Hunt's ketchup?

[Johnny_Cipher]

I use the store brand myself. I can tell absolutely no difference between it and Heinz/Hunt's, and its 50 cents cheaper per bottle.

[Stone Mountain]

The Safeway brand tastes better than Hunts or Heinz...

[KevinB]

I use the store brand myself. I can tell absolutely no difference between it and Heinz/Hunt's, and its 50 cents cheaper per bottle.

Ditto

[Johnny_Cipher]

Absolutely.

(I did try the green catsup in a moment of weakness about a year ago. Couldn't tell any difference in that either, but it was $1.00 MORE a bottle).

[HoustonCurmudgeon]

umm .... er .... OK

[Wooly]

If I owned the joint, I would demand credentials and then detain them and call the Police, filing a complaint of impersonating a officer.
The RIAA has recently started using people who appear to be law enforcement officers also.

[SwinneySwitch]

The store brand tastes better to me. It reminds me of the homemade ketchup my Mom used to make!

[11th Earl of Mar]

I wouldn't relish a visit from one of those weiners.


Anyway, the Ketchup police sould a lot like the ASCAP police who show up at businesses and fine them for playing music without permission.

[elli1]

Personally, I think restaurant owners should charge Heinz for advertising Heinz products in their establishments when they set a bottle of Heinz ketchup on the diners' tables.

[Johnny_Cipher]

My mother made her own jelly. (And, to this day, I miss her homemade grape jelly every time I eat that oversweetened crap that Welches puts out).

[KarlInOhio]

They better hope that Bush wins in November. Otherwise President Kerry could send in a B-2 instead of the Ketchup Police.

[CaptRon]

Theresa is going to be piiiiiiiiiiiiiised!

[TexasBarak]

(I did try the green catsup in a moment of weakness about a year ago. Couldn't tell any difference in that either, but it was $1.00 MORE a bottle).

I had some of that awhile back- and I have never had so much fun from such a simple item. First, I asked the wife to get me some, and got to laugh at her reaction. Then she went shopping with our neighbor (mrs.), and I got to listen to *her* highly amusing reaction. My wife amused me by sighing and rolling her eyes every time I got it out, and so on, and so on- another good part was that I even liked the taste (it tasted different from the regular stuff to me). Well worth the two bucks or so, in my opinion.

[Condor51]

They have "Ketchup Police" now?

In a way yes - Food/Health Inspectors.
Years ago, I used to frequent a small restaurant in Chicago (West Loop area) that would fill/top-off their Heinz Ketchup bottles after each lunch shift with generic ketchup. The owner told me what he was doing was ILLEGAL and if caught he'd face heavy fines - but the cost of Heinz was almost double. It's just like putting Canadian Club® in a Crown Royal® bottle, you can't do it.

[Johnny_Cipher]

The potential to mine a little comedy gold was just too strong to resist. Yes its wrong (and cheap) to refill catsup bottles with another company's product. But the very idea of a bunch of red-shirted Barney Fifes running around busting restaurant owners for their catsup choice was just too good to pass up.

[Condor51]

Yeah, I know you were being sardonic, but in Chicago they're not Barney Fife's - they're Bruno's or Guido's. And the *fine* or pay-off can be a b*tch. Not that I'm insinuating Chicago inspectors are mobbed-up or crooks or anything.

Note: To paraphrase Mark Twain, The rumors of the Chicago mob's demise has been greatly exaggerated.