The act of eating fries just got a bit more complicated, or easier, depending on how you feel about ketchup packets.
At the tail end of last week, H.J. Heinz Co. unveiled a "Dip and Squeeze" packet/cup hybrid that allows for squeezing from one end and dipping from the other. It looks like the progeny of a McDonald's sauce container and a traditional ketchup packet.
It's been in the works for at least two years. The new packets will be rolled out nationwide this fall -- they're already in test markets in the Midwest (anybody seen any in Wichita?) and the Southeast. Heinz is not abandoning its traditional packaging, just testing alternatives. The market is too big for radical change -- the company sells 11 million cases of ketchup packets a year.
If the chart doesn't make sense, CBS News has a video of the new packet in action. The goal for the redesign was to make ketchup packets more portable and avoid in-car spills. Although the only tried-and- true method of avoiding ketchup stains is to have your ketchup applied by the passenger or sneak bites while stopped.
The original ketchup packet was introduced in 1968. The new packet is three times larger than the original version, and although it uses fewer materials, it's not recyclable. (And it now has an official Facebook page.)
While unveiling the "Dip and Squeeze," Heinz also announced it was jumping on the sugar bandwagon. Simply Heinz Tomato Ketchup is made with sugar instead of high fructose corn syrup and will debut in March.
[Image via Flickr: The Consumerist]
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