Heinz Replies to Anti-Dad Sexism Accusation

On the first of March I wrote this letter to Heinz, complaining about the slogan “inspired by a recipe from Sophie, a mum just like you.” It was a protestation on behalf of Sophie almost as much as on behalf of dads everywhere (and I mean EVERYWHERE, Heinz) that regularly feed their children. Surely she couldn’t have been happy being compared to me?

Seriously though, the assumption that anyone in charge of a child’s sustenance must be their mum is so outdated as to be laughable.

As you may have heard in the latest edition of the Bewildered Dad Podcast, I finally received an answer. SPOILER ALERT: It’s not quite what I’m looking for.

This is what the company had to say for itself:

Dear Mr Coulson

Thank you for getting in touch.

All our Mum’s Own meals are just that – real mums’ recipes!  Although the range is called Mum’s Own we know that Dads, Uncles, Aunts, Grandmas and Grandads, and many other carers alongside Mums use them to feed little ones. We are not aiming to exclude anyone.

Thank you for sharing your comments which we will pass on to our marketing team.

Kind regards,

Sara Wilson

Congratulations Heinz on spectacularly missing the point. The fact that it is called Mum’s Own is not a problem – if it’s designed by a mum, then call it Mum’s Own, it makes sense. However, don’t then imply on the packaging that all feeding is the domain of the mother. It isn’t. These are two very separate issues, one of which I didn’t bring up – you’ve answered the wrong one.

Almost as if it was an insincere copy-and-pasted fob off. Almost.

I asked for a spokesperson to appear on the podcast but received no reply. Presumably I’ll receive another email in three months, thanking me for my compliments on their ketchup.