This Heritage Day, Johannesburg became the setting for an unexpected meeting of cultures, food and fire as Heinz joined South Africans around the braai.
On National Braai Day in September 2026, Heinz celebrated its arrival in South African braai culture with a Heritage Day gathering that brought more than 2,000 people together for a day centred on food, music, art and togetherness.
But there was something remarkable about the gathering.
From the ground, 125 braais became gathering points where people could cook, eat, connect and celebrate. From above, those same 125 braais came together to form one enormous Heinz label.
It was a striking symbol of a global food brand finding its place at Mzansi’s table.
125 Braais. One Giant Statement.
Heinz did not arrive with instructions on how South Africans should braai.
Instead, the brand brought its own taste to the table and allowed South Africans to decide whether there was room for it.
There was.
The celebration marked a meeting between two stories of heritage. Heinz, a food brand with more than 150 years of heritage, brought its history into a distinctly South African setting, where the braai became the centre of a day filled with food, culture and connection.
The result was simple in concept but powerful in scale: 125 individual fires became one giant Heinz Keystone label.
When Ketchup Became Art
The celebration also brought food and art together.
Heinz partnered with South African artist Ricollin, who created a live tribute to South African heritage using Heinz Tomato Ketchup as the paint.
Working in front of guests, Ricollin brought together symbols representing South Africa, its people, food and culture around the Heinz bottle.
The artwork became a visual meeting point between two heritages.
Guests could watch as familiar elements of South African identity were brought together on one canvas, with Heinz Tomato Ketchup becoming the unexpected medium.
It was heritage expressed through food, art and colour.
Finding a Place at Mzansi’s Table
For Heinz, the celebration was about more than introducing a product.
It was about becoming part of a food culture that already has its own traditions, rituals and stories.
Passant El-Ghannam, CMO Middle East & Africa at Kraft Heinz, said Heritage Day provided an opportunity to honour where people come from while recognising Heinz’s own long history around family tables worldwide.
“We didn’t come to tell South Africans how to braai. We came to earn our place at the table, and today Mzansi made room for us.”
The statement captures the central idea behind the celebration: rather than changing the braai, Heinz wanted to bring its own contribution to it.
Call It Ketchup. Call It Tomato Sauce.
There is also the familiar South African question of what to call it.
Ketchup or tomato sauce?
For Heinz, the name may matter less than what is inside the bottle.
The brand says quality remains central to Heinz Tomato Ketchup. According to the company, every bottle begins with tomatoes grown from Heinz’s own seeds, helping deliver the same balanced taste, colour and rich texture wherever it is enjoyed around the world.
That focus on consistency forms part of the Heinz story as the brand establishes its place in South Africa.
From Fire to Food Art
The scale of the Johannesburg celebration created its own visual story.
125 braais became one Heinz Keystone label.
Ketchup became paint.
More than 2,000 people became part of one Heritage Day celebration.
Each element reflected a different side of the day. The braai represented gathering. The artwork brought heritage into focus. The Heinz label connected the individual fires into one larger image.
And at the centre of it all was food.
A New Place at the Braai
Heritage Day is about celebrating what makes South Africa South Africa.
For Heinz, it became an opportunity to introduce its own heritage into that conversation while embracing the culture surrounding one of Mzansi’s most recognisable gatherings: the braai.
In Johannesburg, the brand did not simply place its sauce next to the fire.
It built an entire celebration around the moment.
Heinz arrived with more than 150 years of heritage behind it.
South Africa brought its own.
And for one extraordinary Heritage Day, heritage met heritage around 125 fires.
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