Flavoring everything from potato chips to peanuts to cotton candy, pickles have been kind of a thing. In fact, according to Datassential, nearly three-quarters of Americans cite dill pickles as a favorite flavor.
Continuing its model of creating new extensions and flavors of its signature products, Kraft Heinz has created Pickle Ketchup. Capitalizing on what executives call a craze for all things pickle-flavored, the new product was born out of an opportunity to give the people what they want.
“As a consumer-obsessed brand, fans’ increased desire for tasty, yet unexpected condiments has served as our innovation north star for the last several years,” said Katie Peterson, director of Heinz Innovation at The Kraft Heinz Company. “As we looked to launch our newest flavored ketchup, we found synergy between the irrational love fans have for Heinz and the pickle craze currently sweeping the world.”
The new product, which will roll out in the United States in early 2024, is, in fact, steeped in the company’s history. The company’s founder, Henry J. Heinz, was once known as the “Pickle King” for owning the country’s largest pickle factory in the United States. A nod to that designation remains today in the form of a tiny gherkin on the brand’s keystone label.
“Pickles are in our brand’s DNA, and no one knows pickles quite like HEINZ,” Peterson said. “Combining the current pickle trend with the fact that Heinz Ketchup and pickles have been an iconic and irresistible pairing on burgers and fries for over 150 years, we saw a ripe opportunity in today’s market to deliver a crave-worthy new condiment that would win with both Heinz fans and pickle lovers alike.”
Pickle Ketchum marks the first product to launch globally under Heinz’s strategy to unify the brands under one global creative platform earlier this year. The product launch announcement will be supported by earned media in 2023, and will receive more traditional marketing support when it launches in the U.S. in 2024, Peterson said.
