French’s to bottle ketchup in Toronto by early 2017

Jun. 7, 2016 – French’s Food Company says starting early next year, all ketchup it sells in Canada will be bottled in the country.

The food manufacturer says it has partnered with Select Food Products Ltd. in Toronto, Ont., to build a new manufacturing facility that is expected to be fully operational next year, and is also expanding its partnership with Highbury Canco, which sources and packages the tomatoes and tomato paste used at its Leamington, Ont., plant.

The tomatoes in French’s ketchup sold in Canada already come from local farmers, but some of the bottling takes place in Ohio.

“French’s ketchup soared in popularity earlier this year after a man’s Facebook post lauded the U.S.-based company for its commitment to buy tomatoes from Canadian farmers while its competitor, Heinz, closed its Leamington plant, costing the community about 750 jobs,” reports The Canadian Press.

According to CP, French’s will also be looking to source other materials, like packaging and labels, from Canadian manufacturers.

— With files from The Canadian Press