This page has been archived and commenting is disabled.
McDonalds Drops Heinz Ketchup Due To Executive Rivalry
It was as if a million Warren Buffetts cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. That is an artist's impression of what happened overnight following news that McDonalds would, after 40 years of serving the red tomato paste in its global restaurants, drop the use of Heinz ketchup from its stores. The reason: executive bad blood due to the appointment of Bernardo Hees, the former CEO of biggest rival Burger King, as the current head of Heinz following the Berkshire purchase of the company in February, in the process making the John Kerry estate even richer. "As a result of recent management changes at Heinz, we have decided to transition our business to other suppliers over time," McDonald's said in a statement. The Oak Brook, Illinois-based restaurant chain did not disclose the value of their business relationship.

From BBC News:
The world's biggest fast-food chain said it would drop the ketchup after Bernardo Hees, the former head of rival Burger King, took over as Heinz's chief executive. "We have decided to transition our business to other suppliers over time," McDonald's said.
In February, Heinz was purchased in a $28bn (£17.3bn) takeover.
McDonald's said that it would work with Heinz "to ensure a smooth and orderly transition of the McDonald's restaurant business", which has 34,000 restaurants around the world.
Mr Hees took over after Heinz was bought by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and Brazilian investment fund 3G Capital. Burger King is controlled by 3G Capital.
McDonald's uses the ketchup at many stores around the world, though only in Pittsburgh and Minneapolis inside the US.
"As a matter of policy, Heinz does not comment on relationships with customers," the ketchup-maker said.
"As a result of recent management changes at Heinz, we have decided to transition our business to other suppliers over time," McDonald's said in a statement. The Oak Brook, Illinois-based restaurant chain did not disclose the value of their business relationship.
More:
The Pittsburgh company, which also makes baked beans, vinegar and other foods, is now led by Bernardo Hees. He still serves as vice chairman of Burger King's board and is also a partner at 3G Capital.
The 43-year-old Brazilian had become CEO of Burger King after 3G bought the struggling hamburger chain in 2010. He subsequently slashed costs, revamped the chain's menu and launched a major marketing campaign to help make it a more formidable threat to long-time rival McDonald's.
Coincidentally, it is all those international McDonalds restaurants which have the unpleasant habit of charging extra for ketchup portions. It remains to be seen just what the cash flow impact to Heinz (and benefit to alternatives) will be as a result.
- 22533 reads
- Printer-friendly version
- Send to friend
- advertisements -


Go Fortran yourselves, Bitchez! ;-)
Looney
P.S. Hey, Buffett, how does it feel to get fucked by the Captain Ketchup?
John Kerry's wife is gonna be pissed!
Still serve it at BK....and the sandwiches are a lot better.
You can still get packets of the red gold from Burger King if you ask....then go McDonalds if you feel you must.
There are a lot of take out places that give you Heinz ketchup if you get fries, not just BK.
The Orifice of Omaha takes one “you know where”.
Never look too closely at your BK patty....,
If you have, you know what I'm saying...
http://joyreactor.com/post/445212
Screw them both! Out west it's 'In-n-Out' burger baby!!! All the WAY!
You should also try 5 Guys; alot like Fudducker's before they closed, but at sane prices.
+1 For stroll down Fuddrucker memory lane.
um, fuddruckers isn't closed. Try the new elk burgers!
Amen to that. It's our place of choice when we visit Cali. Here in the Midwest we have some 5 guys around but In-n-Out tops them all.
THAT'S NOT THE REAL PROBLEM!
SURE IT'S BAD FOR HEINZ....
BUT!!!
THE KETCHUP AND THE MAYO MACDONALDS OFFER WHEN YOU ORDER THOSE FRIES MAKE UP HALF THEIR PROFITS!!
That's John Kerry HEINZ.......if you please.
You now how liberated women like John would take offense not including their last name in the middle to....you know.....let the world know they haven't lost their identity......or some shit like that.
Don't worry, they'll both still have plenty of money for plastic surgery.
If I were to meet Theresa-Heinz-Kohn in person, I would only say two words to her: Del Monte.
Newsflash:
John Kerry files for divorce and was seen recently seen canoodling with Mrs. Hunt.
I'll bet Mrs. Hunt's husband, Mike knows all about it.
LOL BECUASE MIKE HUNT SOUNDS LIKE MY CUNT.
XDDDDDDD
It's because Ms Hunt gave up GMO High Fructose Corn Syrup.
Seems like forever since I've seen Mike Hunt.
...or his brother, Isaac.
Mike Hunt's a pussy!
redacted....after call from the IRS.
True that. You should get to know Mike Hawk.
Long red gold
Saturday night at McD
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=928_1382409786
It's a good thing the police were Johnny on the spot o protect and serve.
From the way people acted in the video, the police in that area probably had a lot more to do than break up a McDonald's brawl.
Trader Joe's Ketchup is much better anyway.
I'm taking my ball and going home.
Who cares? I still won't eat that shit.
Those burgers will never taste the same
I buy the 2 dollar organic at Trader Joe's.
I don't eat gut bomb horseburgers or a sack of snakes....no matter what condoms are put on them.
Yeah, let's hurt a totally different company, that'll show Burger King! McDonalds, could you be any more of a petulant child?
Remember, this is a company that tells its workers to sign up for food stamps that somebody else pays for and still cries to mommy government for an Obamacare waiver. Now the spotless minds on the bridge of the starship McStupid want to stick its customers with runny ketchup too because the mean old boss of Heinz used to be the mean old boss of Burger King. Golly gee I hope this dude doesn't move to a bread company and force them to serve their burgers on rolled up newspaper instead...
Ketchup = HFCS if you look at the label
Ketchup is so last century. These days, America eats Salsa.
Right now Steve Liesman is calling for some Cuban music.
Not on american traditions including hamburgers, hotdogs and french fries. Salsa may be used once in every 50000 hamburgers made if that much. Having cookouts, gone to cookouts not one time have I seen Salsa used on anything other than chips or other Mexican or Tex Mex dishses.
The only thing that saves them is that hopefully most adults didn't eat McDonalds anyway and it's just the kids and their happy meals and they don't believe the kids will notice the difference which is possible. However, when their replacement catsup comes out watery and thin a finicky, discriminating kid will notice.
Good luck Mickey D. In the end it won't be the activist and food police that end up shutting you down, it will be your own arrogance and stupidity. Check your own coporate history Clown Burger and you will see that your brand is not invincible though you may think it is because you have forgotten that at one time your franchises almost went down the tubes because of lack of quality control and stupid, arrogant, piss poor management.
Salsa took over Ketchup 20 years ago.
www.nytimes.com/1992/03/11garden/new-mainstream-hot-dogs-apple-pie-and-s...
it is what Warren predicted, sales of McDonalds will fall and he will buy Mcdonalds in few years for bargain...Fucking insiders....
and HFCS = food right?
I'm really curious about what the HFCS generation will turn out like. What is the result of a HFCS diet during pregnancy, followed by formula feeding the infant until they are old enough to eat HFCS? Anyone know how these kids turn out?
I live in a 1st world country so I'm not privy to what's happening in 3rd world countries like the USA.
teh diabetus
The HFCS will take a long time to kill you, but enough Hg (a common contaminant in HFCS) over a shorter period can be pretty detrimental, but who cares, just like lead poisoning, it's only kids in the inner city eating enough of that for it to matter, right?
Maybe Ronnie declaring it a vegetable meant more than we thought!
fucking sugar tarriffs, enacted to protect a few wealthy cane growing families in florida. Not one person in 10000 in this country has a clue either. I still buy a botle or two of mexican coke at the grocery store every now and then, on the rare occasion i drink soda, since they still make it how its supposed to be. As far as i know, America is the only country that does this. I remember my time in the middle east, all of us hated american soda, and always bought the hajji kind, since theirs was made with real sugar too. We used to alwasy yell at the cooks on the boat for buying the american made kind. Pretty sad when something of an american icon like coke is now made better by every other country in the world than ours
Seems there's a war between the sugar and the corn refiner lobbies over ketchup...Scroll down in the following article:
ConAgra switches back to HFCS in Hunt’s ketchup citing lackluster demand
No, it's lackluster demand for watery Hunts ketchup. May as well mix dog turds in with cocaine and claim lackluster demand in that market too.
Yeah.....because the fucking pathetic sheeple are hooked on that shit now. Pull the drug from the market...and the crackheads go to somewhere else to get their fix.
+1 Heinz is as fake ketchup as it is fake blood.
Could this be the beginning of Ketchup as a proxy for currency wars? Look for an expansion of Chinese ketchup in international markets. :)
new NEW! from China: Szechup!
MUCH luckier than 'american' ketchup!
Great job McDonalds- tell everyone what you're going to do in advance. Why not make competitors bid on it thinking they're still competing with Heinz and a 40 year relationship? Heinz is probably licking it's chops, so to speak. I wonder who else in the US would be big enough and have an adequate delivery network to meet McDonald's needs?
you kidding? the salesman from Hunt's has been calling every day for decades....he's the Bud Fox of Ketchup.
the proposal has been redrafted every month since Eisenhower....
If I didn't know better , I would say there is collusion between BK and Heinz. But Warren would never do that.
In an economy fully driven by political corruption, this is a sensible - almost necesssary - move on the part of McDonald's.
McDonald's etc blows but they do seem to be cutting off their noses to spite their face being Heinz ketchup is better than any other catsup on the market. McDonalds never watched the Godfather in which Michael tells Sonny "...it's not personal Sonny, it's just busniness...". From my perspective this is an emotional/personal decision as opposed to a business decision. Unless McDonalds believes private competitive data will fall into the hands of a rival then maybe. Otherwise they are in fact changing an ingredient, thus their recipe that apparently appeals to enough people to make them extremely profitable. Ketchup matters lest McDonald's in under the impression that it doesn't. Another stupid Executive pet trick that should end up on Letterman.
I refuse to consume Hunt's......so good luck with that Mickey Dee.
Katsup will be pleased....
It was as if a million Warren Buffetts cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.
THAT is one of the best lines I have ever read on this site. Bravo, Tyler.
100% agreed!
I'm a Star Wars nerd... I love it!
Real tomato ketchup, Eddie?
Nothing but the best.
Well, executive bonuses all the way around.
With such executive masterpieces, it is Time for a junket!!!
buffett has been buying the all time high like a piss ant kool aid drinker
Maybe Buffett understands that in a short time the government/taxpayer will be responsible for all healthcare unburdening corporations of their medical liabilities which will in turn unlock profits even though there will be zero or less than zero sales growth. Why else would there be this buying frenzy under the business conditions that have existed over the last 5 years and what appears to that "new normal"?
Mc Donger King no longer delivers ketchup to Heinz? wtf? This won't end well.
The one good thing that was on the menu at McDonald's and now it's gone.
Hilarious.
The amounts of herbicides, fungicides, and pesticides that are used on potatoes are staggering.
Eat those McDonald's fries at your own risk.
"The amounts of herbicides, fungicides, and pesticides that are used on potatoes are staggering.
That is da truf! Also why I grow my own. Add GM to it & you're guaranteed to be a victim of ACA while you rot from the inside out.
Well, when you get finished breathing all the radioactive Fukushima particles I sincerely doubt a few fries will make a difference.
People still eat fast "food"??
As long as it takes money away from that monster Buffet I'm happy.
I make better hamburgers anyway.
I skip any products offered by Buffett and company.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IGtDPG4UfI
I wouldn't call it food, let alone fast food
Who knew that people gave this much of a shit about Ketchup. I only buy the ones made with real sugar, but other than that I couldn't give a fuck what brand. It's ketchup!
These are the level-headed stalwarts that conservatives believe can save us from misallocation of capital?
LOL
Please die already Buffett.
I said please.
He's more like a coral formation that builds up over years, not really feeling anything, but making the ecology dependent on him nonetheless.
Concentration of capital, while inherent to capitalism, is also antithetic to the continued health of capitalism, when extrapolated to infinity.
Little red poisonous packets of HFCS. A fitting match for any McDonalds product.
As a means of exchange ketchup is catching up to Tide
http://www.redgold.com/images/red-gold-brand-images/logo-large.jpg?sfvrsn=0
Big deal.
Them furriners use vinegar and mayonnaise on their fries anyway.
Pittsburgh and Minnesota might as well be furriners...they talk funny.
Does anyone else find this odd? I can understand Pittsburgh but not so much the Minneapolis connection.
"McDonald's uses the ketchup at many stores around the world, though only in Pittsburgh and Minneapolis inside the US."
3600 Minnesota Drive
Minneapolis, MN 55435 Phone: (952) 841-2080
As a Minnesotan, I had no idea McDonalds didn't have Heinz in every store across the nation.
BTW, it's not just Minneapolis; it's all over the state. But what ketchup have I eaten at McDonalds in other states over the years? I don't remember eating another brand.
I just returned from Minneapolis a half an hour ago. This other guy posted an address posted which is a parking ramp off France Ave just north of 494. There might be an H.J. Hienz office in there but if there is it is no bigger than the office I sitting in right now. The number does go to some chick named Diane Day from H.J. Heinz who of course does not answer.
Still, it is not explained what the connection to Minnesota is all about. The address the guy provided is actually an Edina address which is interesting for the fact that I have hired Edina Real Estate, another Berkshire-Hathaway holding, to sell some real estate for me which they apperently suck at doing. They have 17 days left to get the property sold or I'm done with them.
This reeks of political corruption so I am going to ask a few people that I know who just might know. Let me get on the phone and send a few e-mails.
Just received a note from someone who might know. That person does not know and finds it very odd as well. Very fishy.
Coming Soon: "The Affordable Ketchup and French Fry Dippers Fairness Act".
Ah, leadership. As if cubicle-dwellers needed an example of how to be petty.
Stay out of increasingly toxic fast food dumps if you want to live.
you is a poor hungry cuban you jellyous of are freedomes and exceptional analism.
you cante taste freedomes cos you nots free.
eat drink i say corn syrup and primal meat ooze is good.
eyes love in it init.
Do not worry, folks, Warren Buffet will still be a billionaire even if Heinz goes under.
Oops, that one's gonna pinch...
Attention African Economic advice, (((((ZERO McDONALDS)))))......In Eritrea
http://www.tesfanews.net/economic-lessons-from-most-unlikely-country-eri...
Unless it has real surgur in it the ketchup taste like crap anyway.
dontes mess with heinz or burger king or buffet.
macca d
dis is gmo cancer wars bitches
smell the aborted baby flavors suck on the death corn syrups and die you scum.
lord rothschild and soros nose best.
"Coincidentally, it is all those international McDonalds restaurants which have the unpleasant habit of charging extra for ketchup portions"
IS IT? Any McD's I've been to in the last 15 years has a nice squirt container and you just mosey on up to it with a paper cup from a dispenser and fill it. As many of them as you want. Or dump it right onto your fries right from the spout. No charge extra.