Heinz Tomato Ketchup bottles featuring the royal coat of arms.
Education Images / Contributor
Heinz, Waitrose, and hundreds of other brands have to redesign products with the royal coat of arms.
The brands had a Royal Warrant to use the coat, but it became void after Queen Elizabeth II died.
Now, they have to reapply under King Charles III, by proving the royal family uses their products.
Over 800 brands, including Heinz and British supermarket Waitrose, will have to change the design on their packaging after Queen Elizabeth II’s death.
Products from around 875 brands feature a royal coat of arms on them that is now void, according to the Royal Warrant Holders Association. However, the brand can continue using the royal coat of arms for up to two years if “there is no significant change within the company concerned,” the association’s website says.
As the new reigning sovereign, King Charles III will have the power to review and grant the Royal Warrants.
Brands are able to use the royal coat of arms in their product design if they have a Royal Warrant of Appointment — a document allowing the brands to use coat if they supply goods or services to the royal family. According to the association’s website, to qualify to apply for the Royal Warrant, companies and businesses have to supply “products or services on a regular and on-going basis to the Royal Households of Grantor/s for not less than five years out of the past seven.”
Brands applying for the warrant also have to show they have policies and action plans around the environment and sustainability.
The royal coat of arms, which features the English lion on the left and the Scottish unicorn on the right holding a shield with emblems from the different parts of the United Kingdom, is accompanied by the Legend which is a statement at the bottom of the crest that says which member of the royal family granted the warrant. For instance, “By Appointment to Her Majesty the Queen.”
The Royal Warrant is granted for up to five years, and can be reviewed for renewal the year before it expires. According to the association, between 20 and 40 warrants are granted, and a similar number are canceled, each year.