Henry Heinz was born on October 11th 1844 in the outskirts of Pittsburgh. Growing up, he developed great interest in farming activities, including food producing and gardening. Heinz had a true calling in business. "From an early age, he had helped his mother in the family garden, first tending it and later selling its surplus to local grocers. By the time he was twelve, he had his own personal plot, a horse, cart and a growing list of customers" (Koehn 1999, p. 51) Selling his mother's goods Heinz later realized how important the insurance of quality and purity was to the customer and foresaw the emerging market opportunities. He began bottling the goods in clear glass and then presented the product to housewives, local grocers and hotel owners.
             Similarly in the 1860's he extended his sales to new "Oil towns" of Western Pennsylvania.
             In expanding his food business, Heinz, in 1869, formed a partnership with L. Clarence Noble; Heinz, Noble & Company. They chose an anchor as the company symbol and began marking their labels with it. They set up a small food factory (with 3 employees), producing horseradish. Noble was in charge of manufacturing and bottling operations, whereas Heinz devoted himself to sales. Already then they had made the first step towards creating organizational capabilities in producing and distribution.
             Increasing demand for their product in the early 1870 made them expand their product line, diversify and thereby exploit the economies of scope. Later, they also integrated backwards by producing vinegar. In 1872, they made an investment in production by moving their business from Sharpsburg to Pittsburgh where they leased a four story factory, office, retail store and a warehouse. They purchased 160 acres near Pittsburgh – "the largest garden in the states".
             They expanded the business even further with the decision of going westwards where they opened a sales o...