b'MOREthanKETCHUPA global contributor to the processing tomato industry, Heinz works to cultivate and distribute high-quality processing tomato varieties around the world.Laura Handke laurahandke117@hotmail.comAS A SAUCE THATwas originally derived from fermentedestablished to ensure a continual pipeline of tomato varieties well fish, ketchup, from the Chinese word, k-tsiap, has come asuited for each region of production, while maintaining the quali-long way from its 300 B.C., southern China roots.ties and quantities needed to meet Heinzs recipe standards and It wouldnt be until 1812 that the first tomato-based ketchupgrowing customer demand. recipe would be developed and another 64 years after that for the Heinz companys thick, sweet, tomato-vinegar-brown sugarSeeds of Successrecipe to grace American dinner tables.Today, the core mission of the Heinz tomato breeding program By 1905, the condiment, marketed in the iconic glass bottle remains the same and continues to be an integral component of to give customers a better look at the quality sauces they werethe Heinz business. buyinghad sold over five million bottles. Today, ketchup, onceHeinzSeed primarily serves its farmer-grower customer base, spelled catsup, is a staple in nearly every North American pantry,in much the same way it has since the beginning: with quality still bearing the uniquely rich flavor that started it all.seed backed by the agronomic support and advice needed to Heinz didnt stop with its unique spin on the ketchup recipemaximize yield. What has changed is the companys opportunity and spelling, however. When the company coined the 57 varie- to distribute and sell outside of the proprietary varieties. ties slogan in 1896, it reflected neither the number of productsAnd for Stockton, Calif.-based John Marchese, who leads the company sold, nor the seed varieties used to produce theKraft Heinzs seed business, that paradigm has become the basis products, as many believe. The number, Heinz thought, simplyfor a global processing tomato variety offering. sounded lucky.About three decades ago, Heinz expanded their offerings to But luck had little to do with the meticulous and dedicatedinclude tomato processing varieties around the world, Marchese strategy the company would execute over the next century.says. And those varieties are used for a whole host of products, Heinz knew that the only way to maintain a brand was to createnot exclusive to Kraft Heinz. The proprietary tomato varieties, and maintain a quality product. And to do that, the they knewwhich account for a very small portion of the seed business, are that they had to start with quality ingredients, including theprocessed into tomato paste and ultimately, Heinz ketchup.products foundation: tomatoes.Selection for both the non-proprietary varieties, as well as In 1916, Heinz developed a quality research program inthose destined to become Heinz ketchup, is a process that con-Bowling Green, Ohio. The first-of-its-kind facility was entirelysiders the research trials and feedback from stakeholders within dedicated to improving the quality of the produce used in Heinzthe production pipelinephasing some varieties into and others products. By 1934, the Heinz tomato breeding program wasout of production each year. The actual development of new varieties, however, takes between seven and 10 years.The process, Marchese shares, aligns with the varietal selec-tion process all seed companies employ with one distinguishing perspective advantage for his Heinz seed team. What makes our team unique (in com-parison to the companys seed production competitors) is that our entire team, glob-ally, wakes up every day thinking about 6/ SEEDWORLD.COMFEBRUARY 2020'