Heinz Wattie's Limited (or simply Wattie's) is a New Zealand–based food producer of frozen and packaged fruit, vegetables, sauces, baby food, cooking sauces, dressings and pet foods in the
New Zealand
New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...
market.
History
Founded in
Hawke's Bay in 1934 by Sir
James Wattie and Harold Carr, the company initially operated under the name J. Wattie Canneries Limited (later J Wattie Foods Limited and its related companies). Its first product was jam, as Wattie was unhappy that an Auckland jam-making business intended to import jam pulp from Australia.
In February 1962, the company's factory and plant in
Hastings
Hastings ( ) is a seaside town and Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England,
east of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to th ...
was largely destroyed in a fire.
The fire destroyed the main steam line from the boiler room to the processing plant, however the four boilers themselves were not damaged and production was restored 50 hours afterwards. The insurance claim for damage was half a million pounds, the largest insurance loss in New Zealand to that date.
In 1980, Wattie Industries and
Goodman Fielder purchased shares in each other’s companies that led to a merger in 1987 to create Goodman Fielder Wattie Ltd. In 1992 the Wattie’s group was bought from Goodman Fielder by American-based
H. J. Heinz Company for $565 million.
The company employs around 1,900 people, of which approximately 350 are temporary or casual. The company produces its own Wattie's products, some international brands of
H. J. Heinz Company, as well as local products under brands like Craig's, Farex, Eta, Oak, Good Taste Company, Greenseas, Earth's Best, Complan, Chef and Champ.
The company has three production centres in New Zealand. Two are located in
Hastings, New Zealand
Hastings (; , ) is an inland city of New Zealand and is one of the two major urban areas of New Zealand, urban areas in Hawke's Bay Region, Hawke's Bay, on the east coast of the North Island. The population of Hastings (including Flaxmere) is ...
, where the company was founded, and over 1,200 product lines are produced there. The third production plant, which focuses on producing frozen and dry vegetables, is located in
Christchurch
Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...
.
Products
Wattie's has an extensive product line consisting of thousands of products. Its baby food products are broken down into five main categories: birth–4 months, 4–6 months, 6–7 months, 8–9 months and 12 months or older. Other canned foods include
baked beans
Baked beans is a Dish (food), dish traditionally containing white Phaseolus vulgaris, common beans that are parboiling, parboiled and then baking, baked in sauce at low temperature for a lengthy period. Canned baked beans are not baked, but ar ...
, spaghetti, soup, preserved fruits such as
apricots
An apricot (, ) is a fruit, or the tree that bears the fruit, of several species in the genus ''Prunus''.
Usually an apricot is from the species '' P. armeniaca'', but the fruits of the other species in ''Prunus'' sect. ''Armeniaca'' are also ...
and
pear
Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in late summer into mid-autumn. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the Family (biology), family Rosaceae, bearing the Pome, po ...
s, sauce bases, animal food, frozen meals and frozen vegetables.
Wattie's tomato sauce is made in New Zealand, and products carry the label "NZ's Favourite". The television commercials throughout the 1990s used the line "You'll always be a Kiwi, if you love our Wattie's Sauce".
See also
*
Goodman Fielder Wattie Book Awards, 1968–1993
References
External links
*
Wattie's Food In A Minute Recipe website
{{Brands of New Zealand
Heinz brands
Food manufacturers of New Zealand
Food and drink companies established in 1934
Food brands of New Zealand
Companies based in Hastings
New Zealand companies established in 1934