57 – mystical, magical, and memorable

The number “57” on Heinz products, like ketchup bottles, is a marketing slogan, not a count of the actual number of products offered. While the company now has over 5,700 products worldwide, the “57 Varieties” slogan was introduced in 1896 when the company had over 60 products. Founder H.J. Heinz chose “57” because he liked the number, finding it “mystical, magical, and memorable”. He was inspired by an advertisement he saw for “21 styles of shoes” and decided to use a similar catchy number for his own products.