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Lesson #5: Do Not Sell Yourself Short, The World Is Waiting

Article Overview: In the banking panic of 1875, a young Heinz found himself overextended and bankrupt. He had tried unsuccessfully to turn for help to the grocers he had been supplying with produce over the past few years. They, however, turned their backs on him. He could not even get enough credit to feed his family.

Lesson #5: Do Not Sell Yourself Short, The World Is Waiting

In the banking panic of 1875, a young Heinz found himself overextended and bankrupt. He had tried unsuccessfully to turn for help to the grocers he had been supplying with produce over the past few years. They, however, turned their backs on him. He could not even get enough credit to feed his family.

With that, Heinz decided that he would never again be placed in a situation where he had to depend on others to survive. He went back to work, more determined than ever to make a success of his business. And this time, he was not going to place any limits on what he could achieve.
In 1875, Heinz started over again. Together with his brother and cousin, Heinz plowed full speed ahead, vowing not to stop until he had conquered the world. After all, he said, “our field is the world.”

First came tomato ketchup. Then came red and green pepper sauce, and cider vinegar. Those were followed by apple butter, chili sauce, mincemeat, mustard, tomato soup, olives, pickled onions, pickled cauliflower, baked beans, and more. Heinz saw no limit to the demand for his products.
But as the American dining table continued to brighten, Heinz was itching for more. After a trip in 1886 to England, Heinz was convinced that it was not only Americans who would want to buy his products. He returned to England with “seven varieties of our finest and newest goods” in his luggage, and went out on a mission.

First on his list was London. There, Heinz met with Fortnum & Mason, the leading food supplier in England, and asked them to sample his goods. After their buyer tasted his products, they promptly placed orders for all seven of the products and agreed to distribute them.

Ten years after that initial visit, Heinz opened up his first overseas office near the Tower of London. In 1905, he added a factory in Peckham to his overseas operations, followed by a site in Harlesden in 1919. Soon, Heinz had become one of the leading food suppliers to the Queen of England. British food shoppers even began to think of Heinz as a British company.

Heinz’s career is characterized by his refusal to accept limits and his eagerness to seize new opportunities. He never stopped hoping to develop larger markets for his products, whether in the U.S. or overseas. By focusing on large, growing, and urbanizing cities, Heinz was able to capitalize on the increasing market for processed foods. While most of the other American canneries and condiment manufacturers that saw Heinz as competition only sold their products locally, Heinz believed they were selling themselves short.

There were possibilities of both a broad national and international market for his products and he was going to tap them. He had all of the will, the brand power, and the quality that he felt would guarantee his success in wider markets. Why limit himself to local markets when the whole world was waiting?

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Article Tags: apple butter, baked beans, brother, chili sauce, cider vinegar, cousin, dining table, full speed, green pepper, grocers, heinz, luggage, mincemeat, mustard, olives, pepper sauce, pickled cauliflower, pickled onions, tomato ketchup, tomato soup



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