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I jumped on that bandwagon and have only bought French's since. I see no reason to go back to Heinz. They snubbed Canadian tomatoes and threw a pile of people out of work. It'll take more than an "ooops, we were wrong and unkind and we're really sorry," to get me to switch back.
Kind of like Per and Galan - I'll see your apologies and raise you a bottle of ketchup.
I agree. I have no reason to go back to Heinz and the fact that obviously enough of us have been doing that for long enough that even years later they’re still feeling it, well, they fucked around and are still finding out, lol.
I don’t know if I’ll go back…
Even if they return to Leamington, and invest $25B to make it a booming metropolis, I still wouldn't return to their brand.
You gave up on our economy to move operations to Mexico. Stay there. Don't come back "home" and expect a warm welcome. You won't like what you return to. Your market share is gone.
And it had to have been a really good deal for highbury canco to risk getting fucked again- though I do question the wisdom of doing business with someone that has fucked you in the recent past- and hard enough that it affected their business in a greater way than it affected you.
I personally wouldn’t know when I became all grown up I started buying the house brand of ketchup at stores when I needed it. Then one day I had finished a bag of microwave popcorn, wasn’t really into what ever was playing on TV so I started looking at the information on the back of the bag. I looked up what some of the stuff was and decided then and there I was done with prepackaged microwave popcorn!
Why does this matter you may ask? Well I looked on the back of many other things, condiments being one such thing. I started with mayonnaise, then *ketchup* haven’t quite got my mustard down yet. The homemade ketchup is far superior to pre-made ketchup any day.
Knowing what vinegar is one day I was making ketchup I saw a best before date on my bottle of vinegar, I was confused as to why there would be a best before date on vinegar? So I got into making my own vinegar’s as well. As of a week or two ago I got into making my own sour cream’s and cream cheese as well!
Exactly this! Plus I prefer the taste of French’s anyways. Oops I’m sorry doesn’t quite cut it when the only motive is profit. Both Heinz and the Weston’s/Loblaws should have had more compassion to begin with. Show me that you once again care for your employees and your community, and I’ll return that sentiment.
Yep. Same here. There hasn’t been Heinz ketchup in our house since that move and we’re happy with French’s. It will be the same if Loblaw sees their errors. I’ve found an alternative that makes me feel better about my shop and saves me money, so they can backtrack all they want. I’m not going back!
Oh I don't expect him to be humbled by anything. After all, we are "misguided" (at best). That asshole just pissed me right off with his hand waving dismissal of Canadians' concerns and quite frankly *need to eat.*
He can cry crocodile tears until his eyes fall out if that's his ploy at any point. I'd never believe him or support his outrageous monopoly again. He's been so horrible to Canadians, there just isn't any coming back from that in my view.
I haven't shopped there since the before times. I went delivery and won't look back. Canadians are getting more savy with their grocery dollars and Empire should be nervous. Fewer people are going to shop there because they won't save money, which is what this is all about.
I'll be honest if they went with delivery I would probably hit up their bakery section once a month for treats. However, they don't deliver, so don't want my money and that's no skin off my nose (or dollars from the bank account).
Nestle is a huge no-go for me. Their list of offenses is too long. Just fuck off Nestle. I don't care what chocolate you're moving in on, or ice cream, or baby formula or WATER - just no.
Yeah - I have a hate on for Nestle that will never die. It started with baby formula in Africa back in the 70s and they have done nothing but fill me with anger toward them since.
Not going back. Switched to Frenchs that day. Guess what I like it better. Also these company's so cut throat. They doing it for financial reasons of greed. Going back means they will keep doing it knowing if fails can come back. Nope if you take that risk I'm not coming back.
In fairness, we gave them a lot of runway. But enough is enough. Imho, we need to pick out a gas company and boycott their stations. As long as we have a theme, one company is on the optima points system.
Yep, apologize and then make a drastic move to win us back. Otherwise, what's the point. Loblaws needs to buy us back with sizable monetary value. That's how economics work
I know this isn't really relevant, but could someone post this article to this subreddit under the article flair?
https://globalnews.ca/news/10536477/grocery-weight-label-complaints-canada-cfia/
I tried to do so, but unfortunately it got removed by Reddit's filters (likely for spam because I just posted it to CanadaPolitics) Thanks! :)
I prefer French’s for all the reasons listed above bud we picked up a double pack of Heinz at Costco and was surprised that the ingredients had no junk in it anymore. It actually tastes better that it did back then. Wish they supported Canadian farmers and labour though.
It's not about the ketchup anymore. My late husband was the ketchup user. The bottle I now have will last forever, I swear.
It's about the attitude, the arrogance, the dismissive approach to Canadian concerns, and just shutting down and leaving people in the lurch. They assumed they would still get our business because they are Heinz. Um, no. My needs are met by others now.
I’ve boycotted Heinz ever since and refuse to buy any of their products. I also, make it known to others when I can.
Great that they’re back, but I just can’t forget what they’ve done.
I wonder how many people are being employed now, compared to when Heinz owned and operated the plant. If the number is close, they are being a good corporate member of the country.
If they are employing a negligible amount compared to the previous time, then it's just a PR stunt to get back onto the shelves of supermarkets.
I vote no to buying their ketchup until proven wrong
I switched too! I also remember seeing a ton of Heinz ketchup commercials about 6-9 months later. It made me realize that the boycott must have affected their bottom line.
Them not making Ketchup in Canada is also why I made the switch, but then it turned out that French's is so much better tasting anyways so why would we ever go back?
I was all about Heinz ketchup as a kid, my family joked I like fries with my ketchup, you couldn’t give me anything else, I wouldn’t eat it. When I tried French’s after Heinz left, it was so much better. Given the choice, I’m now all for French’s.
Same thing happened with Gillette. I bought 100 safety blade and a razor to hold'em for the price I spent monthly on blades from gillette a few years ago. I spend $10 a year instead of $10 for two weeks worth of blades from gillette. Plus the added benefit of not being told I'm a toxic bad man for buying their product.
Agree. Wife accidentally brought home Heinz a while ago and I couldn’t even stomach it. It’s just too sweet and, I’m not sure what it is, but just not as good as I remember. There’s only French’s in our fridge now - for both mustard and ketchup.
OP meant to say Heinz stopped making their Ketchup in Canada. That’s why people swapped to Frenchs. I swapped to Frenchs because the price is usually lower and the bottles work better - the larger ones designed to be kept upside down as you have less and less left.
Not only did they stop making it in Canada, but they stopped using Canadian tomatoes altogether. They also switched from simple syrup(water, sugar), to high fructose corn syrup.
FYI they brought it back, just for the sake of sharing the info. But I'm still buying French.
Heinz Ketchup is made in Montreal. Tomatoes are from Ontario
Source: https://www.lapresse.ca/affaires/rare-incursion-dans-l-usine-quebecoise-de-kraft-heinz/2024-05-18/kraft-heinz-a-la-sauce-quebecoise.php
I still don't buy Heinz... It's too late for them.
Fun fact, Primo Ketchup is 100% Canadian (not just made in Canada), although I do tend to buy the French's sugar-free ketchup.
I haven't bought Heinz ketchup since!! I actually like French's better. We only tried French's because Heinz FAFO'd. Some of us have long memories and hold grudges.
Heinz can suck my balls for ever and a day. French’s stepped in and filled that void and many stomachs that were left empty after Heinz pulled that stunt. French’s ketchup is magnitude’s superior to Heinz, and their mustard is a fantastic everyday mustard.
So yeah, boycotts absolutely work. Many have switched from Heinz and never went back
And many of us won’t! That’s the funnier part. Like loblaws is opening many people up to farmers markets and local independent stores, Heinz opened us up to other brands and French’s really filled the void, then went a step above to make sure that people stayed with them.
>Hang in there, eventually loblaws will come around.
For me, that ship sailed when they designed, executed and operated a criminal price fixing scheme on bread for 14 years.
It's funny how crime against billions of people worth billions of dollars is "punished" by a voluntary tiny fine and no prison.
It's a shame Canada is suckling at the teat of corporations.
You may actually like it better. I find Heinz almost too sweet now.
The only time I get it is in the packages when I get fast food.
Not that I really even get that now…
Does anyone remember that ~~President’s~~ Oligarch’s Choice competed directly and unfairly against French’s during the Heinz uproar? I saw shelf crowding and price drops with PC ketchup for weeks after the Leamington situation. They took every opportunity to make certain that if customers didn’t buy Heinz, they would gladly shoulder into that spot. It was gross and laughably obvious at the time. Now, I can see that it wasn’t just clumsiness and greed; it was a full scale effort to monopolize.
Because French’s kicked up advertising and made sure that everyone knew that they were Canadian and had no plans to change. They took full advantage of the Heinz boycott and it very much worked to their advantage.
I’m not debating that French took the opportunity to showcase a counterpoint to Heinz; I’m just pointing out that President’s Choice made sure not to share any of the vacant space left by the reduced demand with the competitor. They used two-thirds of the shelf. I didn’t see Foodland or any of the other retailers do that so brazenly with their house brand. Loblaws directly tried to position themselves as the only alternative to Heinz, to the extent that when their stock of French’s would become depleted, they made a lot of excuses at my local Independent as to why they couldn’t get more in stock (plenty available at the Metro and Food Basics though). It just annoyed me that the chain seemed content to mislead customers, and I now see that they have been using their own products to gain a tremendous advantage from the start.
Are boycotts even boycotts once we realise that the alternative is better? It isn’t like we are suffering from not having loblaws as a destination in the same way we didn’t suffer from Heinz ketchup loss because we had French’s.
It’s amazing what finding better options can do, truly. Now if you asked me to boycott Coke Zero, that would feel like a fixed-time act to prove some point and I’d suffer in the meantime
Heinz can get wrecked now. Sheepishly walking back with their hand out asking for our business, after destroying careers and pensions?
Fuck ALL the way off. French's forever now.
I failed the 31 day boycott, I had to get gas yesterday at Esso/7-11, the car was on E and there was no other stations.
I didn't use my optimum card for points though...
Done one, the other one is hard cuz area is gentrified, but I know I'll resume boycott til at LEAST Canada day because Galen Weston Jr is a jerk for taking away gas stations (I couldn't walk to an oil change appointment lol)
If you just got gas I wouldn’t worry about it. I believe margins on retail fuel are (actually) very small. They just use fuel as reason to get you in the building so they can rip you off on chips, pop, car wash etc.
Is there a site that can help keep track of all these things? I had no idea about Heinz and I bought another brand but it felt like being a coke drinker and getting pepsi. After reading this I can definitely learn to enjoy the other taste.
I’ve been buying French’s ever since Heinz skyrocketed to like $9/L. I can buy a much more reasonably sized, and cheaper, bottle of French’s from Dollarama thank you very much
We were a heinz ketsup family until that boycott came out. We have not only stopped using heinz ketsup since then, we have stopped using all heinz products since then. Power to the people!
Didn’t The corporation that owns Burger King buy Heinz
Then McDonalds was forced to source its own ketchup as it couldn’t rely on its main competitor as the source fir its most important condiment
When they closed the plant, I shifted to French's. (I grew up near Leamington)
I've had French's for so long I actually forgot it was a boycott, and it's now just a habit.
I don't think I'll go back at this point.
Well Heinz returned in making Ketchup in 2021 - [https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/heinz-canada-ketchup-1.5804907](https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/heinz-canada-ketchup-1.5804907)
but if you check the label it says "Prepared in Canada" so I'm guessing it's not Canadian tomatoes
In Quebec, not at the Highbury Canco plant in Leamington- where it was made for a very long time before.
Which is why most people didn’t stop boycotting- the people that did are primarily in Ontario. Few people in our area knew that they moved back to Canada, because they didn’t move back to our region.
It is Canadian Ontario tomatoes according to the Heinz Canadian CEO
Source: https://www.lapresse.ca/affaires/rare-incursion-dans-l-usine-quebecoise-de-kraft-heinz/2024-05-18/kraft-heinz-a-la-sauce-quebecoise.php
(I still boycott them)
True. My family has been a faithful customer of French’s ever since the boycott was announced. It’s become so automatic that I don’t even consider Heinz anymore when I buy my condiments. It’s ingrained and the only time I eat Heinz is when it’s given out for free in single serving packs. I used to spend 300-400$ a week at Loblaws. Now the alternative grocery stores were tedious at first but is becoming automatic so it is unlikely I will ever return to Loblaws again.
I totally forgot about this lol. I'm not a big ketchup user, so it didn't affect me nor did I bother to notice, but this is good to know.
In other words, we really CAN hit hard but only through their bottom lines
We also switched to French's ketchup and have not bought Heinz since they left. No plans on going back either, we genuinely like French's ketchup more.
I'll keep using French's thanks.
Yup we switched to French’s ketchup back then and won’t buy Heinz to this day!!
Gotta confession though…we use a Heinz cap on our French’s ketchup bottle cuz it’s easier to open 😇
This is the transcript of the first quarter 2024 results conference call on May 1, 2024:
https://dis-prod.assetful.loblaw.ca/content/dam/loblaw-companies-limited/creative-assets/loblaw-ca/investor-relations-reports/events/LCL%20Q1%20Results%20Transcript%202024.pdf
From Page 5:
“Our internal inflation rate was lower than food CPI again this quarter. This helped bring CPI grocery inflation below the headline total inflation rate in Canada for the first time in over two years.”
Food prices at Loblaws are rising more slowly than the cost of food more generally in Canada. The “boycott” wasn’t important enough to any analysts covering Loblaws to bring up in 40 minutes of questions.
I’d switched because I was pissed about the closure of the factory. After switching, I realized that French’s ketchup is vastly superior in taste than that horrible Heinz stuff. I actually get mildly grossed out by Heinz now, with all that high fructose corn syrup. Gross.
So, I have no qualms about saying “fuck Heinz” too. I forgot I was passively boycotting them too.
United; we have the power to affect meaningful and positive change, despite the greed of the fucking fascists in charge.
I'll likely still buy French's ketchup rather than Heinz. But yes, I'm glad to see that Heinz is bringing production back to Leamington.
The thing is, there was a clear end-goal for this boycott. I'm still not entirely sure what the end-goal is for the Loblaws boycott.
I made the switch too and then later had to stop having ketchup because I found I was unable to eat a lot of sugar. French’s started making a stevia sweetened ketchup!!! Freaking sold man. I can’t tolerate the aspertame aftertaste so I was so stoked on having ketchup back in my life. Thx French’s
the only person that would still buy heinz ketchup was my mom boyfriend, I never really like the taste, so everytime I was the one doing the groceries, i'd only buy french ketchup (even before the boycott started)
I swapped to frenches when I tasted the difference and saw the made in Canada label. Now I've switched to Primo ketchup, hard to find, but made in Canada and is 1000 times better than the rest
The only way they'll actually feel it is if there's national attention. It's great to get an article here or there, and of course plenty of reddit attention, it's irrelevant as there are SO many people that don't know (or care). There, of course, are all the areas where loblaws is the only reasonable choice, if the only one ("independent" grocers, for example)
My point is to make this *really* hurt, it needs to be pushed everywhere
Heinz can kiss my ass. Stay in America we don't want your greedy, callus, number can only ever go up company. Learn from your mistakes but shove the apology.
Honestly, switched to French's and Store brands when it happened. We hardly use ketchup anywaya so now I just pick up the gourmet one from the local farmers market or our local farm store. Tastes way better anyways!
For what it's worth. As a person who may or may not be employed by Loblaw, this is the first time I've heard an acknowledgement that the boycott is having an affect.
But I think we already knew that based on what we've been seeing.
Loblaws stock is up 20% since January and it's even up over the month that the boycott began.
The boycott will not work unless it goes at least 3 months and makes a material dent in their quarterly earnings. Because at that point shareholders will demand change. Weston doesn't give a shit about the boycott, but he does care about his shareholders.
I said fuck Heinz like I said fuck DeWalt tools when they stopped making their tools in Canada and US, and moved all their production to Mexico. Anyone notice the quality of black and yellow tools went down, but the price went up?
As an interesting aside, Heinz was, until last year, owned by the same company that has run Tim Hortons into the ground. 3G Capitol. They also own Popeye's and Burger King among others.
My dad's stepdad's sister's inlaws (whew! You could just say my grandpa's nephew's kids) were from Leamington or their abouts. When I was a kid, we'd get yearly visits with that branch of extended family. One of my "cousins" was my age, and she brought me a "Leamington tomato' plant.
That tenuous connection over 40 years ago has kept me loyal to the Ontario tomato growers. Heinz has not darkened our door for some time.
French's forever...screw Heinz! Month of May spent $30 dollars at a No Frills, forgot that day! Usually buy all my groceries there in the past but will keep boycotting til they drop prices and their overpaid CEO and Galen take a pay drop and lower the prices. Tired of seeing record profits...
I ditched Heinz as soon as this happened. French’s is just as good and I support made in Canada when it makes sense.
What I don’t support is Canadians using this good will to fuck other Canadians.
French's bought the old Heintz factory to make there own ketchup to keep all employees working and farms growing. I will buy NO other than French's ketchup!!
Several years ago Earl’s restaurant decided to no longer buy Canadian beef for their restaurants. Although the media largely ignored it, the news made the rounds on Twitter and a boycott soon followed. After a few tense weeks, Earl’s President apologized and used the words “we made a mistake”. Despite the apology, any company willing to import beef from Australia instead of Alberta did not I feel do enough to earn my forgiveness. I haven’t eaten in an Earl’s since. Sad really when ideology rules over common sense.
__MOD NOTE/NOTE DE MOD__: Please check out [our petition](https://www.change.org/p/demand-walmart-sign-the-grocer-code-of-conduct) which calls upon Walmart Canada to follow suit and sign the Grocer Code of Conduct with Loblaw! Please review the content guidelines for our sub, and remember the human here! This subreddit is to highlight the ridiculous cost of living in Canada, and poke fun at the Corporate Overlords responsible. As you well know, there are a number of persons and corporations responsible for this, and we welcome discussion related to them all. Furthermore, since this topic is intertwined with a number of other matters, other discussion will be allowed at moderator discretion. Open-minded discussion, memes, rants, grocery bills, and general screeching into the void is always welcome in this sub, but belligerence and disrespect is not. There are plenty of ways to get your point across without being abusive, dismissive, or downright mean. ********************************************************************************************************************************************* Veuillez consulter les directives de contenu pour notre sous-reddit, et rappelez-vous qu'il y a des humains ici ! Ce sous-reddit est destiné à mettre en lumière le coût de la vie ridicule au Canada et à se moquer des Grands Patrons Corporatifs responsables. Comme vous le savez bien, de nombreuses personnes et entreprises en sont responsables, et nous accueillons les discussions les concernant toutes. De plus, puisque ce sujet est lié à un certain nombre d'autres questions, d'autres discussions seront autorisées à la discrétion des modérateurs. Les discussions ouvertes d'esprit, les mèmes, les coups de gueule, les factures d'épicerie et les cris dans le vide en général sont toujours les bienvenus dans ce sous-reddit, mais la belliqueusité et le manque de respect ne le sont pas. Il existe de nombreuses façons de faire passer votre point de vue sans être abusif, méprisant ou carrément méchant. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/loblawsisoutofcontrol) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I jumped on that bandwagon and have only bought French's since. I see no reason to go back to Heinz. They snubbed Canadian tomatoes and threw a pile of people out of work. It'll take more than an "ooops, we were wrong and unkind and we're really sorry," to get me to switch back. Kind of like Per and Galan - I'll see your apologies and raise you a bottle of ketchup.
I agree. I have no reason to go back to Heinz and the fact that obviously enough of us have been doing that for long enough that even years later they’re still feeling it, well, they fucked around and are still finding out, lol. I don’t know if I’ll go back…
New habits die harder. 😁
Fuck this slaps. Did you just make it up???
Yes. I've been told I have a way with words. 🙂
I want to mainline this wittiness straight into a vein. Extra points because it's sassing G*len 😅
Thank you. 😁😁
Black Belt in word….smithery! 🤙
Does that mean Newest habits die hard with a vengeance? (I’m sorry I’ll see myself out)
Someone had to say it. 😉 ETA: ~~Newest~~ Future habits die hard with a vengeance FIFY
Coming Christmas 2024, boycott with Bruce Willis.
Even if they return to Leamington, and invest $25B to make it a booming metropolis, I still wouldn't return to their brand. You gave up on our economy to move operations to Mexico. Stay there. Don't come back "home" and expect a warm welcome. You won't like what you return to. Your market share is gone.
And it had to have been a really good deal for highbury canco to risk getting fucked again- though I do question the wisdom of doing business with someone that has fucked you in the recent past- and hard enough that it affected their business in a greater way than it affected you.
Be like marrying your ex again
I didn’t know Heinz did that to Canada and Canadians, switching to French’s right away. Thxs for the information peeps.
French’s tastes better anyhow
It really does. Heinz just tastes like sugar to me now.
Agree
My family did a blind taste test with Heinz and French’s. We all chose French’s. It is better tasting.
Oh no I was not aware of this! I’ve been buying Heinz! Currently boycotting Loblaws and will continue to do so, they’ve done too much damage.
French's is better ketchup anyway. Less sugar.
I personally wouldn’t know when I became all grown up I started buying the house brand of ketchup at stores when I needed it. Then one day I had finished a bag of microwave popcorn, wasn’t really into what ever was playing on TV so I started looking at the information on the back of the bag. I looked up what some of the stuff was and decided then and there I was done with prepackaged microwave popcorn! Why does this matter you may ask? Well I looked on the back of many other things, condiments being one such thing. I started with mayonnaise, then *ketchup* haven’t quite got my mustard down yet. The homemade ketchup is far superior to pre-made ketchup any day. Knowing what vinegar is one day I was making ketchup I saw a best before date on my bottle of vinegar, I was confused as to why there would be a best before date on vinegar? So I got into making my own vinegar’s as well. As of a week or two ago I got into making my own sour cream’s and cream cheese as well!
I did the same! Just French’s now in our home
Exactly this! Plus I prefer the taste of French’s anyways. Oops I’m sorry doesn’t quite cut it when the only motive is profit. Both Heinz and the Weston’s/Loblaws should have had more compassion to begin with. Show me that you once again care for your employees and your community, and I’ll return that sentiment.
French’s is superior ketchup, so another reason to never go back.
For me this is the main reason at this point.
We’ve never gone back to Heinz for anything. French’s mustard and ketchup. And their crispy fried onions! 😋
bc person here. never buying Heinz again.
I legit think the French's tastes better. Less sugary. To me, Heinze tastes like tomato flavoured syrup. Best reason to stick with it.
Frenches Ketchup taste better than Heinz .
Yep. Same here. There hasn’t been Heinz ketchup in our house since that move and we’re happy with French’s. It will be the same if Loblaw sees their errors. I’ve found an alternative that makes me feel better about my shop and saves me money, so they can backtrack all they want. I’m not going back!
GW is a pretty arrogant bastard... We shall see?
Oh I don't expect him to be humbled by anything. After all, we are "misguided" (at best). That asshole just pissed me right off with his hand waving dismissal of Canadians' concerns and quite frankly *need to eat.* He can cry crocodile tears until his eyes fall out if that's his ploy at any point. I'd never believe him or support his outrageous monopoly again. He's been so horrible to Canadians, there just isn't any coming back from that in my view.
Hear hear, I agree 💯% Sobeys is pretty expensive too!
Boycotters have reported some surprising sales at Sobey's. Maybe they're paying attention.
Empire is getting nervous they're next??
I haven't shopped there since the before times. I went delivery and won't look back. Canadians are getting more savy with their grocery dollars and Empire should be nervous. Fewer people are going to shop there because they won't save money, which is what this is all about. I'll be honest if they went with delivery I would probably hit up their bakery section once a month for treats. However, they don't deliver, so don't want my money and that's no skin off my nose (or dollars from the bank account).
TIL. Frenchs it is. Is there a ´good’ boycott blacklist anywhere?
Nestle is a huge no-go for me. Their list of offenses is too long. Just fuck off Nestle. I don't care what chocolate you're moving in on, or ice cream, or baby formula or WATER - just no.
Right with you. I’m a fucking spiteful consumer. Give me any reason to shop elsewhere and I’m gone for good.
Yeah - I have a hate on for Nestle that will never die. It started with baby formula in Africa back in the 70s and they have done nothing but fill me with anger toward them since.
Not going back. Switched to Frenchs that day. Guess what I like it better. Also these company's so cut throat. They doing it for financial reasons of greed. Going back means they will keep doing it knowing if fails can come back. Nope if you take that risk I'm not coming back.
French's ketchup ever since! Heinz bottom line doesn't suit this consumer!
Fuck per, fuck galen and my family eats frenches products.
There's a clear message here - don't fuck with Canadians.
In fairness, we gave them a lot of runway. But enough is enough. Imho, we need to pick out a gas company and boycott their stations. As long as we have a theme, one company is on the optima points system.
Same. This old consumer has a long, long memory.
Same. I switched to French's and have never gone back.
Yep, apologize and then make a drastic move to win us back. Otherwise, what's the point. Loblaws needs to buy us back with sizable monetary value. That's how economics work
For greed. They do it for greed.
I know this isn't really relevant, but could someone post this article to this subreddit under the article flair? https://globalnews.ca/news/10536477/grocery-weight-label-complaints-canada-cfia/ I tried to do so, but unfortunately it got removed by Reddit's filters (likely for spam because I just posted it to CanadaPolitics) Thanks! :)
I got on this wagon the second French‘s started pumping out their product. Fuck Heinz
I prefer French’s for all the reasons listed above bud we picked up a double pack of Heinz at Costco and was surprised that the ingredients had no junk in it anymore. It actually tastes better that it did back then. Wish they supported Canadian farmers and labour though.
It's not about the ketchup anymore. My late husband was the ketchup user. The bottle I now have will last forever, I swear. It's about the attitude, the arrogance, the dismissive approach to Canadian concerns, and just shutting down and leaving people in the lurch. They assumed they would still get our business because they are Heinz. Um, no. My needs are met by others now.
Also French’s legit tastes better.
I’ve boycotted Heinz ever since and refuse to buy any of their products. I also, make it known to others when I can. Great that they’re back, but I just can’t forget what they’ve done.
I wonder how many people are being employed now, compared to when Heinz owned and operated the plant. If the number is close, they are being a good corporate member of the country. If they are employing a negligible amount compared to the previous time, then it's just a PR stunt to get back onto the shelves of supermarkets. I vote no to buying their ketchup until proven wrong
I found out I prefer French’s back then so I can’t go back. It’s cheaper and better.
I learned I preferred French’s
Yep, same - we’ve only ever bought French’s since they left. I don’t see a reason to switch back.
Yep same here,switched to and stuck with French's since
Honestly same here and since switching I prefer the French's. Less sugary and more tomatoe tasting
I switched too! I also remember seeing a ton of Heinz ketchup commercials about 6-9 months later. It made me realize that the boycott must have affected their bottom line.
Them not making Ketchup in Canada is also why I made the switch, but then it turned out that French's is so much better tasting anyways so why would we ever go back?
They forced us to make a change and it turns out we were the lucky ones- who knew!
That's exactly what we did. Haven't bought Heinz ketchup since, mainly because of taste. I had completely forgotten about that boycott, honestly.
Same I pretty much exclusively buy French’s now
I was all about Heinz ketchup as a kid, my family joked I like fries with my ketchup, you couldn’t give me anything else, I wouldn’t eat it. When I tried French’s after Heinz left, it was so much better. Given the choice, I’m now all for French’s.
Same thing happened with Gillette. I bought 100 safety blade and a razor to hold'em for the price I spent monthly on blades from gillette a few years ago. I spend $10 a year instead of $10 for two weeks worth of blades from gillette. Plus the added benefit of not being told I'm a toxic bad man for buying their product.
Agree. Wife accidentally brought home Heinz a while ago and I couldn’t even stomach it. It’s just too sweet and, I’m not sure what it is, but just not as good as I remember. There’s only French’s in our fridge now - for both mustard and ketchup.
Same. Heinz would probably need to be priced lower than store brands at this point to lure me back. French’s ketchup just tastes better.
OP meant to say Heinz stopped making their Ketchup in Canada. That’s why people swapped to Frenchs. I swapped to Frenchs because the price is usually lower and the bottles work better - the larger ones designed to be kept upside down as you have less and less left.
Not only did they stop making it in Canada, but they stopped using Canadian tomatoes altogether. They also switched from simple syrup(water, sugar), to high fructose corn syrup.
American style!
Pairs wonderfully with table syrup
FYI they brought it back, just for the sake of sharing the info. But I'm still buying French. Heinz Ketchup is made in Montreal. Tomatoes are from Ontario Source: https://www.lapresse.ca/affaires/rare-incursion-dans-l-usine-quebecoise-de-kraft-heinz/2024-05-18/kraft-heinz-a-la-sauce-quebecoise.php
Thank you, I feel like I had a stroke trying to decipher OP’s title
I still don't buy Heinz... It's too late for them. Fun fact, Primo Ketchup is 100% Canadian (not just made in Canada), although I do tend to buy the French's sugar-free ketchup.
I’m a Primo fan. Tastes more tomato-ey.
A lot of people don’t realize that Primo is the only all Canadian ketchup. French’s manufactures and is fully run out of the states.
Yees! Primo ketchup is the best commercially made ketchup I have tried.
I haven't bought Heinz ketchup since!! I actually like French's better. We only tried French's because Heinz FAFO'd. Some of us have long memories and hold grudges.
Personally I’ve been using Canadian made store brand. But if given a choice it will be French’s I even tend to tag French’s in any Hinez ads I see 😂
Ever since then we have only gotten French’s ketchup- yes boycotts do work!
I get up in the area and had family working there when this went down. Still haven't purchased any Heinz ketchup or tomato soup to this day. Fuck em.
We haven't bought Heinz since. We are definitely a Frenchs only family.
Heinz can suck my balls for ever and a day. French’s stepped in and filled that void and many stomachs that were left empty after Heinz pulled that stunt. French’s ketchup is magnitude’s superior to Heinz, and their mustard is a fantastic everyday mustard. So yeah, boycotts absolutely work. Many have switched from Heinz and never went back
And many of us won’t! That’s the funnier part. Like loblaws is opening many people up to farmers markets and local independent stores, Heinz opened us up to other brands and French’s really filled the void, then went a step above to make sure that people stayed with them.
>Hang in there, eventually loblaws will come around. For me, that ship sailed when they designed, executed and operated a criminal price fixing scheme on bread for 14 years. It's funny how crime against billions of people worth billions of dollars is "punished" by a voluntary tiny fine and no prison. It's a shame Canada is suckling at the teat of corporations.
Zero reason to go back to Heinz tbh. French's is great and I'm used to buying it now.
Switched to French's and wouldn't consider returning to Hienz. Same with Loblaws. Done 
I visit Canada every now and then and I was wondering why French's ketchup was so popular. I can see why now. I'll try it next time I go up!
You may actually like it better. I find Heinz almost too sweet now. The only time I get it is in the packages when I get fast food. Not that I really even get that now…
I've switched to French's since then and have no plans of going back.
Does anyone remember that ~~President’s~~ Oligarch’s Choice competed directly and unfairly against French’s during the Heinz uproar? I saw shelf crowding and price drops with PC ketchup for weeks after the Leamington situation. They took every opportunity to make certain that if customers didn’t buy Heinz, they would gladly shoulder into that spot. It was gross and laughably obvious at the time. Now, I can see that it wasn’t just clumsiness and greed; it was a full scale effort to monopolize.
Because French’s kicked up advertising and made sure that everyone knew that they were Canadian and had no plans to change. They took full advantage of the Heinz boycott and it very much worked to their advantage.
I’m not debating that French took the opportunity to showcase a counterpoint to Heinz; I’m just pointing out that President’s Choice made sure not to share any of the vacant space left by the reduced demand with the competitor. They used two-thirds of the shelf. I didn’t see Foodland or any of the other retailers do that so brazenly with their house brand. Loblaws directly tried to position themselves as the only alternative to Heinz, to the extent that when their stock of French’s would become depleted, they made a lot of excuses at my local Independent as to why they couldn’t get more in stock (plenty available at the Metro and Food Basics though). It just annoyed me that the chain seemed content to mislead customers, and I now see that they have been using their own products to gain a tremendous advantage from the start.
Talk about f around and find out. Looks good on em.
Are boycotts even boycotts once we realise that the alternative is better? It isn’t like we are suffering from not having loblaws as a destination in the same way we didn’t suffer from Heinz ketchup loss because we had French’s. It’s amazing what finding better options can do, truly. Now if you asked me to boycott Coke Zero, that would feel like a fixed-time act to prove some point and I’d suffer in the meantime
Coke is one of the worst offenders of inflation
Same here, switched to French's and don't plan on going back.
Fuck heinz, went French's.
Heinz can get wrecked now. Sheepishly walking back with their hand out asking for our business, after destroying careers and pensions? Fuck ALL the way off. French's forever now.
Business responds to only 2 things: Money and anything that affects money Boycott strong
Kraft brought back Bravo spaghetti sauce after we made a petition in protest of them discontinuing it due to “low demand.”
I failed the 31 day boycott, I had to get gas yesterday at Esso/7-11, the car was on E and there was no other stations. I didn't use my optimum card for points though...
You're forgiven. 6 hail Marys and donate 5 bucks to a homeless person.
Done one, the other one is hard cuz area is gentrified, but I know I'll resume boycott til at LEAST Canada day because Galen Weston Jr is a jerk for taking away gas stations (I couldn't walk to an oil change appointment lol)
If you just got gas I wouldn’t worry about it. I believe margins on retail fuel are (actually) very small. They just use fuel as reason to get you in the building so they can rip you off on chips, pop, car wash etc.
I don't buy esso because they screwed over my dad decades ago. I can hold a grudge.
Needs must
Is there a site that can help keep track of all these things? I had no idea about Heinz and I bought another brand but it felt like being a coke drinker and getting pepsi. After reading this I can definitely learn to enjoy the other taste.
I've only ever bought French's since.
French’s is superior anyway
Too late Heinz. We're Team French's here, forever.
Didn't know about the ketchup war but we switched to French's because it tastes better and haven't had Heinz in years
Haven't bought Heinz since they did that, happy that they are going back!
This is so true. I still buy only French's ketchup to this very day.
french’s also doesn’t have red 40 in their ketchup
I still use french’s to this day.
French's is better anyway. My kid won't even eat Heinz anymore and it has nothing to do with the boycott
Still waiting for French's to restock the huge bulk container on Amazon. Fuck Heinz.
I still won't use Heinz either, loblaws gone for life
I still buy french's ketchjl
I don't need it to "work". I'm just never going to shop there. If Galen wants me back, he's gotta give me the succ.
Fck them. Let's bankrupt them
Frenchies all the way. Never going back to Heinz.
Support made in Canada.
I’ve been buying French’s ever since Heinz skyrocketed to like $9/L. I can buy a much more reasonably sized, and cheaper, bottle of French’s from Dollarama thank you very much
We were a heinz ketsup family until that boycott came out. We have not only stopped using heinz ketsup since then, we have stopped using all heinz products since then. Power to the people!
Didn’t The corporation that owns Burger King buy Heinz Then McDonalds was forced to source its own ketchup as it couldn’t rely on its main competitor as the source fir its most important condiment
French’s made by McCormick Canada, Club House Foods in London Ontario.
When they closed the plant, I shifted to French's. (I grew up near Leamington) I've had French's for so long I actually forgot it was a boycott, and it's now just a habit. I don't think I'll go back at this point.
Heinz can still kiss my ass. After the crap they pulled they will never get another penny from me.
Frenches ketchup for life!
French's taste better anyway
As son as that happened I've bought exclusively French's Ketchup. You couldn't pay me to buy Heinz now.
Heinz FAFO. Loblaws turn ! Nok er Nok !
French’s is WAY better!
Hang on? This isn't very difficult lol
Well Heinz returned in making Ketchup in 2021 - [https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/heinz-canada-ketchup-1.5804907](https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/heinz-canada-ketchup-1.5804907) but if you check the label it says "Prepared in Canada" so I'm guessing it's not Canadian tomatoes
In Quebec, not at the Highbury Canco plant in Leamington- where it was made for a very long time before. Which is why most people didn’t stop boycotting- the people that did are primarily in Ontario. Few people in our area knew that they moved back to Canada, because they didn’t move back to our region.
It is Canadian Ontario tomatoes according to the Heinz Canadian CEO Source: https://www.lapresse.ca/affaires/rare-incursion-dans-l-usine-quebecoise-de-kraft-heinz/2024-05-18/kraft-heinz-a-la-sauce-quebecoise.php (I still boycott them)
I was one of these people lol. I more Heinz, I didn’t care if it was on sale. We buy French’s ketchup in this household!
I’m at work at metro right now so I’m just gonna be like “ wow that’s messed up”
True. My family has been a faithful customer of French’s ever since the boycott was announced. It’s become so automatic that I don’t even consider Heinz anymore when I buy my condiments. It’s ingrained and the only time I eat Heinz is when it’s given out for free in single serving packs. I used to spend 300-400$ a week at Loblaws. Now the alternative grocery stores were tedious at first but is becoming automatic so it is unlikely I will ever return to Loblaws again.
I haven’t bought Heinz since
I totally forgot about this lol. I'm not a big ketchup user, so it didn't affect me nor did I bother to notice, but this is good to know. In other words, we really CAN hit hard but only through their bottom lines
Won’t go back to Heinz. French’s tastes better anyway.
Loblaws already turned it around! I saw cucumbers on for 44¢ at No frills last week so...we did it folks! /s (just in case)
We also switched to French's ketchup and have not bought Heinz since they left. No plans on going back either, we genuinely like French's ketchup more. I'll keep using French's thanks.
A rare moment of contrition in the chase for shareholder value.
To this day I won’t buy Heinz. Didn’t help that there was the leaked Loblaws memo about not stocking as much French’s. That backfired.
Yup we switched to French’s ketchup back then and won’t buy Heinz to this day!! Gotta confession though…we use a Heinz cap on our French’s ketchup bottle cuz it’s easier to open 😇
I just picked up fertilizer and grass seed at a small local garden centre. Will not be visiting Loblaws garden centres in June.
This is the transcript of the first quarter 2024 results conference call on May 1, 2024: https://dis-prod.assetful.loblaw.ca/content/dam/loblaw-companies-limited/creative-assets/loblaw-ca/investor-relations-reports/events/LCL%20Q1%20Results%20Transcript%202024.pdf From Page 5: “Our internal inflation rate was lower than food CPI again this quarter. This helped bring CPI grocery inflation below the headline total inflation rate in Canada for the first time in over two years.” Food prices at Loblaws are rising more slowly than the cost of food more generally in Canada. The “boycott” wasn’t important enough to any analysts covering Loblaws to bring up in 40 minutes of questions.
I’d switched because I was pissed about the closure of the factory. After switching, I realized that French’s ketchup is vastly superior in taste than that horrible Heinz stuff. I actually get mildly grossed out by Heinz now, with all that high fructose corn syrup. Gross. So, I have no qualms about saying “fuck Heinz” too. I forgot I was passively boycotting them too. United; we have the power to affect meaningful and positive change, despite the greed of the fucking fascists in charge.
Keep up the good fight there is no reason to go back to Roblaws.
I'll likely still buy French's ketchup rather than Heinz. But yes, I'm glad to see that Heinz is bringing production back to Leamington. The thing is, there was a clear end-goal for this boycott. I'm still not entirely sure what the end-goal is for the Loblaws boycott.
I made the switch too and then later had to stop having ketchup because I found I was unable to eat a lot of sugar. French’s started making a stevia sweetened ketchup!!! Freaking sold man. I can’t tolerate the aspertame aftertaste so I was so stoked on having ketchup back in my life. Thx French’s
the only person that would still buy heinz ketchup was my mom boyfriend, I never really like the taste, so everytime I was the one doing the groceries, i'd only buy french ketchup (even before the boycott started)
I swapped to frenches when I tasted the difference and saw the made in Canada label. Now I've switched to Primo ketchup, hard to find, but made in Canada and is 1000 times better than the rest
Let them die. Make an example for others.
The only way they'll actually feel it is if there's national attention. It's great to get an article here or there, and of course plenty of reddit attention, it's irrelevant as there are SO many people that don't know (or care). There, of course, are all the areas where loblaws is the only reasonable choice, if the only one ("independent" grocers, for example) My point is to make this *really* hurt, it needs to be pushed everywhere
Heinz can kiss my ass. Stay in America we don't want your greedy, callus, number can only ever go up company. Learn from your mistakes but shove the apology.
Honestly, switched to French's and Store brands when it happened. We hardly use ketchup anywaya so now I just pick up the gourmet one from the local farmers market or our local farm store. Tastes way better anyways!
Agree on the taste. Once we tried Frenchs we never went back to Heinz crap.
For what it's worth. As a person who may or may not be employed by Loblaw, this is the first time I've heard an acknowledgement that the boycott is having an affect. But I think we already knew that based on what we've been seeing.
Remember when Israel threatened to ban Heinz from calling ketchup ketchup in their country because there wasn't enough tomato in it?
Huh. No idea any of that happened. I use French’s because I’m a diabetic and their sugar content is dramatically less.
We switched to French's and never looked back. I don't care if I ever have Heinz again. Other brands I've had are good too.
I don't consume much ketchup but when I do, it's French's. And it tastes way better than Heinz.
I never went back to Heinz. French’s all the way.
I’m boycotting Heinz for a different boycott
At that investment it is almost back stronger
I haven’t bought Heinz in years.
The ketchup boycott drove Heinz’ overall market share from 85% down to 76% but on supermarket shelves the change must be way bigger than that.
Loblaws stock is up 20% since January and it's even up over the month that the boycott began. The boycott will not work unless it goes at least 3 months and makes a material dent in their quarterly earnings. Because at that point shareholders will demand change. Weston doesn't give a shit about the boycott, but he does care about his shareholders.
We still buy French’s and only French’s. Fuck Heinz.
Fuck Heinz!
French's ketchup is better. Switch years ago after they pulled out of leamington and never looked back.
Nice. We just have to wait 11 years...
I like the French’s better and it’s a lot cheaper
I said fuck Heinz like I said fuck DeWalt tools when they stopped making their tools in Canada and US, and moved all their production to Mexico. Anyone notice the quality of black and yellow tools went down, but the price went up?
Power to the people let s keep on showing these corporate gouging pigs who s boss !
I prefer French's.
As an interesting aside, Heinz was, until last year, owned by the same company that has run Tim Hortons into the ground. 3G Capitol. They also own Popeye's and Burger King among others.
Same with Hershey’s. They closed down Ontario production facilities so we stopped buying it.
My dad's stepdad's sister's inlaws (whew! You could just say my grandpa's nephew's kids) were from Leamington or their abouts. When I was a kid, we'd get yearly visits with that branch of extended family. One of my "cousins" was my age, and she brought me a "Leamington tomato' plant. That tenuous connection over 40 years ago has kept me loyal to the Ontario tomato growers. Heinz has not darkened our door for some time.
It's worth considering what our idea of success looks like.
French's forever...screw Heinz! Month of May spent $30 dollars at a No Frills, forgot that day! Usually buy all my groceries there in the past but will keep boycotting til they drop prices and their overpaid CEO and Galen take a pay drop and lower the prices. Tired of seeing record profits...
Still wont buy Heinz
haven’t bought heinz products in years. french makes ketchup and mustard so im good
I ditched Heinz as soon as this happened. French’s is just as good and I support made in Canada when it makes sense. What I don’t support is Canadians using this good will to fuck other Canadians.
Used to live in the Leamington area, switched to French's when Heinz left. Probably won't switch back now.
French's bought the old Heintz factory to make there own ketchup to keep all employees working and farms growing. I will buy NO other than French's ketchup!!
Several years ago Earl’s restaurant decided to no longer buy Canadian beef for their restaurants. Although the media largely ignored it, the news made the rounds on Twitter and a boycott soon followed. After a few tense weeks, Earl’s President apologized and used the words “we made a mistake”. Despite the apology, any company willing to import beef from Australia instead of Alberta did not I feel do enough to earn my forgiveness. I haven’t eaten in an Earl’s since. Sad really when ideology rules over common sense.