Despite being a household name, Spanish consumers feel disconnected from Heinz, mainly due to its strong American heritage. But Heinz Spain has in fact been committed to Spanish agriculture, using local produce for its ketchup. We wanted to communicate our support to strengthen loyalty among Spanish consumers. And when the world’s largest tomato-throwing festival, Spain’s famous La Tomatina got cancelled, Heinz saw an opportunity to show their support for Spanish agriculture and farmers while injecting themselves into a culturally relevant moment.

Over 40 tonnes of tomatoes are used each year for La Tomatina festival in Buñol, Spain, making it the largest tomato-throwing festival in the world. But in 2021, La Tomatina festival was cancelled for the second year in a row because of COVID-19, devastating local farmers who rely on income from the festival. Heinz couldn’t save La Tomatina, but we could support Spanish tomato farmers. Our objective was to keep the spirit and impact of the festival alive.

We bought tomatoes from local farmers and turned those tomatoes into Heinz Ketchup. We updated the label on the classic glass Heinz ketchup bottle, replacing the iconic tomato hanging from a vine with a splattered tomato, and naming it ‘Heinz Tomatina’.

When La Tomatina festival was cancelled for the second year in a row because of COVID-19, Heinz sought to support Spanish tomato farmers who rely on income from the festival. Our objective was to keep the spirit and impact of the festival alive, while reinforcing our commitment to Spanish agriculture.

We bought tomatoes from local farmers and turned those tomatoes into Heinz Ketchup. We updated the label on the classic glass Heinz ketchup bottle, replacing the iconic tomato hanging from a vine with a splattered tomato, and naming it ‘Heinz Tomatina’, and sending custom La Tomatina bottles directly to the homes of lucky winners. Along with the campaign, Heinz Spain committed to increasing Spanish tomato use in their ketchup by 50%.

The campaign kicked off on social with a post in ode to La Tomatina, on the day the festival would have happened, August 25. We then introduced the limited edition Heinz Tomatina ketchup, made with local tomatoes to keep the spirit of the festival alive and support local farmers. The post also championed the use of Spanish tomatoes in the iconic Heinz Tomato Ketchup, followed by a contest to win the limited edition Heinz Tomatina bottles.

The bottles brought La Tomatina directly into Spanish homes, and Spanish farmers across the country felt the financial benefit of Heinz’ support. But we didn’t stop there. Heinz Spain made a commitment to purchase 50% more tomatoes from Spanish farmers, to use in their ketchup production. Heinz also signed an agreement with ALKAM, the Spanish Farmers Association, committing to financially support local agriculture and Spanish farmers for years to come.

The campaign was hugely successful on social and beyond. Our launch social post generated over 11 million impressions and resulted in the highest participation and engagement rate ever for Heinz Spain. PR for the campaign resulted in another 11.4 million earned impressions and an ROI of 178%. The campaign even led to an increase of 1.3% market share compared to the previous year.