David Wawrzynski claims Heinz lifted his idea for the dual-action packing without paying him for it. The owner of the food delivery business in the US state of Michigan said he pitched the idea to executives from the company in 2008, and exchanged correspondence with them, according to US media reports.
Meetings
Heinz even asked him to produce samples of the packing before informing him it was no longer interested in the idea, claimed Wawrzynski in legal papers filed at Wayne County Circuit Court.
He said that shortly after this in February 2010, Heinz unveiled the Dip & Squeeze packaging. The product allows users to either peel back the lid and dip food into the small container or tear off the tip to squeeze the contents onto products. The company described the concept as a “true packaging breakthrough”.
Heinz rejects charges
But Heinz has categorically dismissed the claim.
“Heinz strongly believes that the lawsuit filed by Mr. Wawrzynski is groundless and has no legal merit,” company spokeswoman Jessica Jackson told FoodProductionDaily.com.
Questions to the spokeswoman over whether Heinz representatives had ever met with Wawrzynski went unanswered.