Condiment king Heinz will launch a pickle-flavored ketchup to slather on dogs and burgers as the company tries to cash in on the nation’s growing love for the dill delight.
Heinz will roll out its Pickle Ketchup next year after 73% of Americans reporting that they enjoy the taste of the gherkins, according to Heinz.
“The current pickle craze in America mirrors the irrational love HEINZ fans have for the brand, so it only made sense for our newest ketchup to blend these two beloved tastes together,” Katie Peterson, director of Heinz innovate at the Kraft Heinz company said in a statement.
Heinz hopes its latest addition will last longer on shelves than its purple-and-green colored ketchup disaster from two decades ago.
The company had introduced an array of colored ketchups — including purple, pink, orange, teal and green – in honor of the first “Shrek” movie in 2020.
The so-called ‘EZ Squirt’ bottles were initially popular, increasing Heinz’s ketchup market share to an all-time high of 60%, according to a Fast Company report.
But as word trickled out that the rainbow-colored condiments were full of food coloring and that the recipe was changed such that it could no longer be called “tomato ketchup,” the bottles were yanked from shelves five years later because moms were unhappy about the nutritional value of the product.
This time, the Pickle Ketchup will retain it vibrant red hue – and will still be described on the label as “tomato ketchup.”
“Increased desire for tasty, yet unexpected condiments has served as our innovation north star for the last several years,” Peterson said in a statement.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
