McDonald’s to stop serving Heinz ketchup (2024)

Fast food chain McDonald’s has ditched Heinz ketchup from its stores worldwide – ending a 40-year relationship with the sauce-maker.

But the decision to stop serving the high-sugar condiment has nothing to do with looking after customers’ health; it’s because Heinz has appointed the former head of rival Burger King as its new boss.

A McDonald’s spokesman admitted the surprising split was down to ‘recent management changes’ at the sauce supplier.

‘We have decided to transition our business to other suppliers over time,’ the spokesman added.

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.

Heinz is now led by Bernardo Hees, former chief executive of McDonald’s arch-rivals Burger King, and the company refused to comment on McDonald’s announcement.

Mr Hees, who is still vice chairman of Burger King, took charge of Heinz after the firm was bought in a £17.3billion takeover by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway and Brazilian investment fund 3G Capital earlier this year. Burger King is controlled by 3G Capital.

While Heinz ketchup has been the perfect accompaniment to a Big Mac and fries for decades, the switch will really only affect McDonald’s British outlets.

Heinz disappeared from many US branches in the 1970s after the company couldn’t meet McDonald’s demands due to a tomato shortage.

Since then, apart from in Pittsburgh and Minneapolis where Heinz is still used, most ketchup is just branded as ‘fancy ketchup’ in US branches of the fast food giant.

Burger King has been a customer of Heinz for ‘decades’ and will continue to use its products in around 80 per cent of its outlets around the world, according to a company spokesman.

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