Heinz staff rejig as brands axed
HJ Heinz is reviewing about ten marketing positions following its axing of the Pizza Pleasure and Main Street Bistro brands.
Last week the company announced plans to pull out of the frozen pizza business and close its Grimsby pizza factory. Heinz says that both Pizza Pleasure and Main Street Bistro had “failed to meet expectations”.
A Heinz spokesman says: “The changes affect a handful of people in the marketing department. We are looking at how many vacancies and open positions there are, to see if they can be employed elsewhere.”
Steve Turner, the general manager for Heinz frozen and chilled foods with responsibility for marketing, who was appointed late last year (MW October 24, 2002), is unaffected by the changes, adds the spokesman.
Advertising for the two brands was handled by Bates UK and in total the demise of the brands wipes out about &£2.5m worth of advertising business. Leo Burnett holds the lion’s share of Heinz’s advertising business.
Bates still holds the accounts for frozen food Heinz brands such as Weight Watchers, cheesecake brand Deeply Delicious and the Linda McCartney vegetarian food range. However, in a move that does not bode well for Bates, Heinz has signalled its intention to invest more in its core business of canned foods, condiments and babyfood.
