Celebrating 50 years of Heinz Meanz Beanz

With roots stretching back to 1869 and its legacy the envy of competitors, global food brand Heinz enjoys widespread recognition in the canned foods space. While tomato ketchup is perhaps its most ubiquitous brand worldwide, for the toast- and fried breakfast-obsessed UK, Heinz baked beans is a staple of virtually every cupboard. To celebrate 50 years of its most famous slogan, Beanz Meinz Heinz, the convenience food brand has brought it to life in London’s Selfridges store.

In an exclusive brand partnership, Heinz has teamed up with Selfridges to showcase what the baked beans mean to its everyday consumers. The design for Heinz’ limited-edition packaging has been developed by global brand design consultancy Jones Knowles Ritchie (jkr) and touchpoints include an in-store pop-up café and window display in Selfridges’ flagship Oxford Street store. All menus and posters have been designed by jkr.

The limited-edition tins feature one of 50 different plays on the Heinz Meanz Beanz tagline, aiming to reflect the various contexts in which beans can be enjoyed – for example, ‘Beanz Meanz Eggz’ or ‘Benz Meanz Palz.’ Jkr was briefed to play on the notion of ‘home,’ the location most consumers associate with eating Heinz beans and where the Heinz Meanz Beanz slogan was first played out through television advertising. Lucy Clark, marketing lead at Kraft Heinz, says, “Maurice Drake’s slogan summed it up perfectly and the popularity of the numerous adverts that followed is testament to that. It’s an incredible achievement to have a tagline that continues to strike a chord 50 years after it was first penned and we hope its legacy will continue for many years to come.”

Stephen McDavid, design director at jkr, says, "Maurice Drake's famous slogan might be 50 years old but it has truly stood the test of time. Discovering what Beanz Meanz to consumers today felt like the perfect opportunity to celebrate this iconic slogan in a modern way.”

“Selfridges is a fantastic environment for any brand and we wanted to ensure that Heinz Beanz really came to life within this space. By celebrating the brand’s most distinctive and recognisable assets across packaging, point of sale and throughout the pop-up café, we were able to create a real Heinz Beanz experience.”

"To top it off, the Selfridges store window provided a great canvas to continue the story by proudly placing beanz at the heart of British homes."

Maurice Drake, original creator of the Beanz Meanz Heinz slogan in the 1960s, has signed 50 tins which were sold for £10 each on 5 April. Sales of the limited-edition tins will go to the London-based charity, Ideas Foundation, which aims to inspire creativity in future generations.