Jury sides with Heinz in court battle over 'Dip & Squeeze' ketchup packet

A Michigan man presented H.J. Heinz Co. with novel ideas on developing a single-serve ketchup package, but the Downtown-based company didn't use them in developing its “Dip & Squeeze” package, a federal jury in Pittsburgh determined Wednesday.

“We were excited to hear ‘yes' to the first question but disappointed to hear ‘no' on the second,” said Eugene Boyle, the attorney for David Wawrzynski. “We knew that this was going to be a close call.”

The eight jurors deliberated for about two hours before returning with a verdict.

Wawrzynski claimed in the lawsuit that Heinz's efforts to develop a new package had ground to a halt before he met with company officials in April 2008. Heinz claimed that it had all the ideas it used in its package before meeting with Wawrzynski.

“Heinz firmly believed all along that Mr. Wawrzynski's claims were groundless, and we are pleased to have prevailed in this case,” said company spokesman Michael Mullen. “Heinz's history of product and packaging innovations dates back to our founder, H.J. Heinz, and continues today as a cornerstone of the company.”

Wawrzynski declined comment. Boyle said they would have to take a few days before deciding whether to pursue an appeal.

In closing arguments, an attorney for Heinz claimed that Wawrzynski presented the company with generic ideas such as coming up with a package that created less mess.

The owner of Wok to You, a Detroit-area online Chinese and Thai food delivery service, Wawrzynski pitched his ideas in a March 2008 letter, and Heinz set up a meeting the following month, the lawsuit said. The company kept up the correspondence and requested samples.

Ideas in the pitch included the use of a catchy name such as the “Little Dipper,” and one of the samples was for a “dual-function pod,” his attorney told the jury.

“That dual function pod became their ‘Dip & Squeeze,' ” Boyle said.

A company lawyer sent Wawrzynski a letter in 2009 saying Heinz wasn't interested. A few months later, it released the package, he said.

Heinz had been working on a dual-function package for years and as for his marketing ideas, “Do we need Mr. Wawrzynski to tell us to have a catchy name?” David Wolfsohn, a lawyer for Heinz, asked the jury.

Brian Bowling is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 412-325-4301 or bbowling@tribweb.com.