New ketchup packet allows for dunking or squeezing
Posted by admin | Posted in Business | Posted on 05-02-2010-05-2008
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The new Dip & Squeeze Heinz Tomato Ketchup package
For decades there was only one way to use the humble ketchup packet, and it was messy. Now, fast-food lovers have a choice: the traditional squeeze play — or the option to dunk.
You want fries with that, in the minivan? No problem.
The new ketchup pack, unveiled Thursday by H.J. Heinz Co., is shaped like a shallow cup. The top can be peeled back for dipping, or the end can be torn off for squeezing. It holds three times as much ketchup as a traditional packet.
Customers at a McDonald’s in Covington, Ky., said they would welcome a redesign.
“You use up a lot of ketchup now with the packets, I always get extra ones,” said Skyler McDermott, 29. “Maybe now you won’t have to use your teeth to open them.”
Heinz struggled for years to develop a container that lets diners dip or squeeze, and to produce it at a cost acceptable to its restaurant customers.
“The packet has long been the bane of our consumers,” said Dave Ciesinski, vice president of Heinz Ketchup. “The biggest complaint is there is no way to dip and eat it on-the-go.”
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. Read the rest of this entry »
