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.
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.”
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.
Heinz will continue to sell the traditional packets.
Whether restaurants buy the new packets will depend on cost, experts say.
Customers may force the issue. Rants about the messy packs have helped spawn hundreds of anti-ketchup-packet groups on Facebook.
These issues come as no surprise to Heinz’s Ciesinski. “We created the packet in 1968,” he said. “Consumer complaints started around 1969.”