Basic HTML Version
July 25, 2013
MADE IN PORTLAND
9
PORTLANDIA FOODS
By KYLIE WRAY
The Tribune
K
etchup. It’s pervasive; it’s every-
where. And often we see the same
old brands with the same old in-
gredients.
To Portlandia Foods, these often geneti-
cally modified, heavy in high-fructose corn
syrup ingredients were an inspiration to do
something more.
Jeff Bergadine and Michael Deal, co-own-
ers of Portlandia Foods, and makers of Port-
land Ketchup have made ketchup their life.
“I ate a lot of ketchup when I was young-
er,” says Deal, a Vancouver, Wash. native.
“Hearing that he had this cool idea to re-
make ketchup, something that is fundamen-
tal in American culture, is something that’s
really exciting to me.”
When breaking into the ketchup world,
Bergadine knew that they would either have
to make the ketchup cheaper or better quali-
ty. So, they went for quality.
Portland Ketchup is made up of seven in-
gredients and all of them are organic, with
the exception of the sea salt, which it gets
from Jacobsen Salt Co., which harvests its
salt by hand from the Oregon Coast. It has
half the salt of common ketchup and much
less sugar.
“I’ve always had this fantasy of replacing
those products that I deemed of less quality
and making them better,” Bergadine says. “I
kept seeing condiments as a way that I can
make an impact. Going to all these cafés, I
just kept thinking, ‘Wow, if I can just make a
better product than Heinz.’ “
Despite the fact that the ketchup is in fact
more expensive than the ketchup everyone is
used to, it has been met well by consumers.
Since McMenamin’s restaurant picked
their ketchup up in Oc-
tober 2011, Bergadine
and Deal have set
about expanding Port-
landia Foods repertoire
to more than just
ketchup.
Recently, Portlandia
Foods released its new-
est condiment: Mus-
tard. Making Portland
Ketchup Co.’s slogan
even more true than
before.
Bergadine is hoping to continue to build
their collection of condiments and eventually
complete the “Holy Grail of Condiments.”
Portlandia Foods is working on a barbecue
sauce.
Reporting contributed to by Stephen Alexander.
Portland Ketchup maker gives Rose City eaters
a reason to pour it on
427834.072513 MIP
436052.072513MIP
LOCAL FURNITURE
FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES!
CUSTOM-BUILT
SIZES
AVAILABLE
LOW
PRICES
ON NEW
AND
USED
WWW.DESKSINCPDX.COM
2541 SE 9TH AVE • 503-234-6233
Family owned and operated since 1979
Portland
Ketchup
Portlandia
Foods
PHONE:
503-729-8257
portlandia
foods.com
TRIBUNE FILE PHOTO
Portland Ketchup bottles can be found at local
McMeniman’s restaurants and pubs. The local
condiment maker is busy working on a barbecue
sauce.