>>Since Heinz decided to pull the plug on its Canadian plant in Leamington, 740 jobs were lost. Heinz decided to make its...Posted by Brian Fernandez on Tuesday, February 23, 2016In a phone interview, Fernandez told Canadian Grocer the photo received 43,000 shared within 12 hours of posting. The post has since been shared nearly 133,000 times.While French's did not respond to requests to comment, Fernandez says company president Elliot Penner told him earlier that day that production has ramped up to keep up with the demand his Facebook posting has created at Canadian grocery stores.Last week, Ontario MPP Taras Natyshak presented a petition calling for French's ketchup to be served in the dining room and cafeteria at Queen’s Park, replacing the current Heinz brand.French’s had put a focus on local since the product first launched in Canada. Its ketchup is made with Canadian tomatoes grown in Leamington, and in December, French’s started stamping a “promise seal” on its mustards and ketchups. The red seal, which feature a Canadian flag, is meant to signal the company’s pledge to provide products with “great taste, real, local ingredients, and true commitment to our communities.”Other retailers have been able to capitalize on the condiment's popularity. Toronto independent Longo’s announced Monday night that it would stock French’s ketchup in its stores. “You asked, we listened,” the retailer posted on Instagram.You asked, we listened - get your Ontario-made #FrenchsKetchup at #Longos. Support @foodlandontario and enjoy! #LeamingtonOntarioA photo posted by @longosmarkets on Mar 14, 2016 at 6:02pm PDT\"For context on our initial decision, our job as a retailer is to stock the products customers want most,\" Groh wrote. \"Despite the recent media and social media attention, French’s regular ketchup did not sell well in our stores for more than a year.He added that Loblaw consistently met with French's to review performance, and the company was notified of Loblaw's final decision more than a month ago.\"Loblaw has a Canadian-first sourcing policy and is committed to supporting Canadian farmers and Canadian businesses,\" he said. \"We are the largest purchaser of locally grown produce in the country.\"For Canadian food expert Sylvain Charlebois, Loblaw's decision to delist French's ketchup was a \"strategic corporate decision that became a cause\" for many people.\"Loblaw is very supportive of Canadian agriculture,\" said Charlebois, a professor of agricultural economics at the University of Guelph, and the soon-to-be dean of the management faculty at Dalhousie University in Halifax. \"But they simply misunderstood and miscalculated public support for locally processed and value-added goods.\"To me, that's the really interesting thing about all this, and is likely a first in Canadian history.\"","headline":"Shoppers see red over delisting of French's ketchup","description":"Retailer reverses decision and promises to restock shelves with French's ketchup","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://canadiangrocer.com/images/v/16_x_9_480/s3/teaser_image_62877.jpg","width":"655","height":"368"},"datePublished":"2016-03-15T07:00:00-0500","dateModified":"Wed, 12/15/2021 - 16:07","author":{"@type":"Person","name":"","url":"https://canadiangrocer.com/author-profile/"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Canadian Grocer","url":"https://canadiangrocer.com/"}}