Heinz's Ketchup Revolution
As proof that nothing should ever get too comfortable with its position in the world, the Heinz ketchup packet's 42 year run at the top of the fast food empire may soon be coming to an end. Heinz recently announced a new package design that brings several enhancements to the ketchup packet experience. While I had never really considered it before, looking at the rationale and the proposed redesign, it absolutely looks like a win.One of the more interesting passages in the Christian Science Monitor article on the subject covers Heinz's R+D work:
Designers found that what worked at a table didn't work where many people use ketchup packets: in the car. So two years ago, Heinz bought a used minivan for the design team members so they could give their ideas a real road test.The team studied what each passenger needed. The driver wanted something that could sit on the armrest. Passengers wanted the choice of squeezing or dunking. Moms everywhere wanted a packet that held enough ketchup for the meal and didn't squirt onto clothes so easily.
First off, kudos to Heinz for committing to the a real-life ketchup lab for its designers. That aside, it's clear to see how this field research led directly to the new packet's benefits, which are as follows:
- It's purported to be easier to open
- It offers a dipping option to better enable ketchup consumption on the go, particularly for drivers
- It holds three times as much ketchup as the old design so you don't have to open as many packages
- It uses less packaging material than three packets
- The new packet is recyclable
All of these characteristics seem to be hitting on all the right experience pain points the R+D team observed and are also reflected in my own rather extensive field experience with the subject matter. My particular field lab is the local Chick-fil-A. I'm sure you have your equivalent.Moreover, the sustainable attributes are hitting on all the right marketing notes to improve adoption. Even with incremental increased cost to restaurants, many of the larger ones interests will likely be at last partially piqued by the packet's eco-benefits as further opportunities to demonstrate their commitment to greener initiatives and products. That is, of course, to the extent that a plastic is greener and more sustainable than something that can't be recycled.While it's sad to see such a hallmark of the fast food experience on the ropes, all good things must one day end. And when you get right down to it, the packet was never all that great. It just just did what it was supposed to do. In the useful-usable-desirable hierarchy of products, it was squarely in the "useful" end of the scale, never really attempting to achieve more. To its credit, Heinz took that leap forward, in the midst of an epic downturn no less. But as a spokesperson for Heinz said: "We created the packet in 1968," he said. "Consumer complaints started around 1969."
I guess it was about time.
Interesting Trivia: Heinz sells more than 11 billion ketchup packets every year.
