[LINK] "French's Canadian ketchup gives Leamington lift"

[rfmcdonald]

This story, recounted by the Toronto Star's Vanessa Lu, recounts an interesting episode in the history of Canadian retail. (For the record, I don't use ketchup. I prefer tomatoes.)

If it was mustard, no one would care. But it’s about ketchup — and Canadian pride is on the line.

The grocery giant Loblaws suddenly said this week it would stop selling French’s ketchup, which boasts that it’s made entirely from Canadian tomatoes. That’s a subtle jab at rival Heinz, which moved production to the United States in 2014.

The public backlash ensued. Online posts blasted Loblaws. French’s ketchup was trending on Twitter. And politicians got into the act, with Liberal MPP Mike Colle threatening to launch a boycott of Loblaws and its stores over the unpatriotic move.

“I think your company has made a huge miscalculation and underestimated the value that we put on supporting local foods and local jobs,” said Colle in a letter to Loblaws president Galen Weston Jr.

Hours later on Tuesday, Loblaws reversed its decision. “We will restock French’s ketchup and hope that the enthusiasm we are seeing in the media and on social media translates into sales of the product,” said Kevin Groh, vice-president of corporate affairs, in a written statement.