In the United Kingdom, "Beanz Meanz Heinz" and has since the slogan was first used in the 1960s by the Pittsburgh company.

In the U.S., Heinz means ketchup. Beans? Not so much.

For decades, the food company has been a bit player in the U.S. baked bean market, selling a vegetarian version that was an early entry in the kosher market and is popular with certain niche audiences.

But Heinz is in the midst of expanding its recession-ready assortment of food offerings, aiming for both affordable and reassuring, and that means trying to bring some of its international expertise in the bean business back home.

Four flavors of its new HomeStyle Beans, a name that borrows from the company's HomeStyle Gravy line, are rolling out in grocery stores around the country, after successful tests last fall in several markets including Pittsburgh.

These are not the same beans that Brits have served on toast as a comfort food since 1901. The U.K. label and recipe are different. Theirs are white navy beans in a simple tomato sauce.

For U.S. customers, Heinz officials tapped the expertise of the company's Canadian operation, which is also big into the baked beans business and offered up 12 to 14 recipes to choose from, said Noel Geoffroy, vice president, Heinz Brands/U.S. Consumer Products.

"We tweaked them as appropriate for the U.S. consumer," said Ms. Geoffroy, who has years of experience marketing brands from Folgers and Pringles to Heinz ketchup.

Customers here will choose from traditional combinations such as brown sugar and bacon; molasses and pork; and maple flavor, as well as the trendier Chipotle BBQ Style.

All are being made in the company's Leamington factory, in Ontario, Canada, and shipped south. The 16-ounce cans will run around $1.39 per can.

That's about the price point that Heinz officials started mentioning last year as important to customers living paycheck to paycheck. Rather than doing big, stocking-up grocery trips, growing numbers of people trying to feed families on a small, weekly check need products with lower entry-level prices.

Research into "comfort foods" favored by Americans shaken up by the slippery economy found that baked beans ranked right near the top of the list. Heinz knew beans, already selling different versions in more than a dozen countries around the world.

It's a little bit of a mystery why the Pittsburgh company's U.S. line has been so limited. According to company-supplied history, the business founded in Sharpsburg first started selling baked beans in the U.S. in 1895. Those sold in the U.K. were shipped from here until 1928, when a production operation was set up there.

In the 1950s, company records show it offered U.S. customers several flavors of baked beans including pork and tomato sauce; Boston style beans; and Campside beans. Sometime around the 1970s, Heinz seemed to pull back. "I don't know why it sort of went away," said Ms. Geoffroy.

Bush Brothers & Co., a private company based in Chestnut Hill, Tenn., now leads the $530 million category, according to SymphonyIRI Group, a Chicago-based market research firm that track sales through supermarkets, drugstores and mass market retailers, excluding Wal-Mart, warehouse stores and convenience stores.

In the 52 weeks that ended Dec. 25, Bush's sales hit about $365 million, followed by Conagra Foods Inc. with $80 million in sales, according to SymphonyIRI. Private label baked beans accounted for about $32 million in sales, while Heinz USA baked beans tallied just over $5 million.

Market research showed Bush's sales number dipped slightly percent in that period, while Heinz sales were up 4.6 percent and private label brand sales rose 5 percent.

No question, baked beans are among the top side dishes in American homes, said Harry Balzer, a vice president with market research firm NPD Group Inc. "The question you have to ask is what are you bringing to the category," he said.

Heinz might be able to get customers to try its offering just by being a new face in a familiar, and popular, category, he said. After that, the company will need to have some version of the best taste, right price or convenient packaging to keep shoppers coming back.

It can be difficult to get people to switch long-term from a favorite brand. Mr. Balzer said, "That's the hardest thing to break -- habits."

First Published: January 25, 2012, 10:00 a.m.