New Heinz Ketchup Packets Should Calm Down Frustrated Facebookers

Today, Heinz (HNZ) announced a redesign of its ketchup packets. A press release describes what makes the new packets different from the old ones: “A true packaging breakthrough, the Heinz Dip & Squeeze dual-function package gives ketchup lovers two ways to enjoy Heinz Ketchup: either peel back the lid for easy dipping, or tear off the tip to squeeze onto favorite foods.” The new packets also contain three times as much ketchup as the conventional packets and less sodium.

Was this redesign really necessary? It seems that most people who want ketchup on their fast food have long been willing to accept smaller, sometimes messy, packets. In fact, Heinz says that ketchup packets have looked the same for more than 40 years. The traditional ketchup packets may not have been perfect, but did anyone really care that much? Well, if you do a quick search on Facebook, you’ll see that a lot of people actually did. There are hundreds of anti-ketchup packet groups and pages on the site. Here’s a sampling: "Abolish Ketchup Packets!," "God I Hate Ketchup Packets...," "Americans for the production of larger Ketchup packets," and "Ketchup packets are too much work and not enough payoff." From our estimates, there are more than 1,000 people who belong to anti-ketchup packet groups on Facebook. The movement may have been small, fragmented and somewhat in jest, but here’s why Heinz would have cared: Almost every single image associated with these groups is a Heinz Ketchup label.

This week, Heinz Ketchup launched a splashy Facebook page that celebrates the new packaging. In today’s press release, the company says, “Fans of the Heinz Ketchup Facebook page also will be the first to receive exclusive news on new products and innovations, including the latest details on the launch of Heinz Dip & Squeeze.” Rising hostility on Facebook may or may not have prompted Heinz to change its packaging. But either way, it seems like the company was hesitant to create an official page on Facebook until it did.