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Heinz Tomato Ketchup: turning a packaging


icon on its head
Snapshot: Consumer insight and observation led to one of the biggest pack-
aging changes in the famous brand’s history.

Key insights

• Don’t be afraid of pursuing a relatively straightforward idea, because it


can add huge value.
• The valuable insight Heinz gained that consumers turned the bottle
on its head to get the last drop helped make what was already a suc-
cessful brand even more so.
• This was done without losing the brand’s long heritage, and, indeed,
capitalised on it.

Summary

Heinz is one of the largest food companies in the world, with a portfolio
of powerful brands holding number-one and number-two market positions
in more than 50 countries. The company’s top-15 power brands account
for two-thirds of annual sales.
The Heinz Tomato Ketchup bottle is one of the most well-known mar-
keting symbols in the UK. Since the product’s launch in 1896, Heinz has
continually evolved the design and packaging of the sauce, with such
innovations as the move from glass to plastic bottles in 1987.
By 2001, the company realised that it was time to make another signifi-
cant shift. The subsequent design of the top-down (TD) format was based
on the simple but compelling insight that consumers turned their bottles
upside down to get the last drop. The first design of the top-down bottle
was launched in the UK in July 2003, and within weeks was exceeding all
expectations. More than seven million of the bottles were sold in the first
12 months: more than three times the base estimate of 2.2 million sales.
In early 2004, a second design came into play, making more of its iconic
“57” varieties via embossing. This move ensured the brand’s heritage and
long-term values were maintained throughout the transition.
14 M A R K E TI NG E XC E L LE N C E

In October 2004, two additional sizes of the bottle launched, with


two more added in March 2005. One glass format was retained for con-
sumers loyal to the design. Heinz Tomato Ketchup’s share of the market
by value reached 77.5% by the end of December 2004, up from 72.8%
in 2003.

The birth of a packaging icon

Heinz Tomato Ketchup was first launched in the US in 1876, taking its place
alongside other Heinz products from the innovative Henry J. Heinz, purveyor
of fine foods. Thick and spicy, ketchup was presented as a convenience food:
“a blessed relief for mother and other women in the household.”
By 1882, Heinz patented the first glass ketchup bottle, one of the most
famous iconic symbols to be found across the globe. The brand was intro-
duced to the UK in 1896 and quickly became the nation’s favourite sauce.
By 2005, Heinz Tomato Ketchup commanded a 66.5% volume share of
the UK ketchup market and was recognised worldwide as the “defining
ketchup”.
In 1987, following extensive consumer research, the first plastic Heinz
Tomato Ketchup bottle was launched. The insight driving this innovation
was that consumers loved their Heinz Tomato Ketchup but didn’t want
to wait to get it out of the bottle. So the squeeze bottle was the perfect
solution.

Delving more deeply

By 2003, 80% of the bottles of Heinz Tomato Ketchup sold in the UK


were plastic, proving convenience to be a key consumer need. However,
Heinz consumer contact data had also shown that while consumers
loved Heinz Tomato Ketchup, they had one or two niggles about the bottle.
Focus groups were thus run to review packaging and understand the
issues.
The question was asked: “What makes you mad, sad and glad about Heinz
Tomato Ketchup?” Some of the answers included:

• “The taste of the product!”


• “The ketchup sometimes makes a mess around the cap.”
• “You have to turn the bottle upside down when it’s nearly empty.”
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• “It is difficult and takes time to get the last of the ketchup out of the
bottle.”

Following these consistent messages fed back to Heinz by consumers, it


was clear that the company needed to start the development of a bottle that
would resolve these issues. This led to the biggest change brought about by
the packaging development teams at Heinz.
The result was launched in the US after research showed that purchase
intent of 77% prior to use rose to 90% after use, while the 40% who said
they definitely would buy the products rose to 67% after use. These were the
highest results any Heinz Ketchup had scored. And these results were repeated
in the UK. Consumers felt the benefits of the new design were worth paying
a higher price for. They liked the convenience, ease of use and the stay-clean
cap.
One stock-keeping unit (sku) in the new top-down format (570 g) was
launched in the UK in July 2003, and within weeks was exceeding all expec-
tations (Figure 2.1). It surprised most consumers to the extent that the Heinz

The birth of Top-Down

• June 2003
– 570g SKU launched
– £10.8m sales in the first 12 months

Source: IRI, 12 w/e 31st Dec 2005

Figure 2.1
16 M A R K E TI NG E XC E L LE N C E

Incremental volume from new market buyers


TK - Source of Change - Heinz TD TK

New Market Buyers 310,735 7% of


gains

1,388,441
31.2%
Added to Repertoire
of
gains
Increased Market 1.4%
61,392
Purchasing of
gains

Switching Total 2,682,651 60.4%


of
gains
Switching - Volume (Kg's)
52 w/e 17 Aug 2003 vs. 52 w/e 15 Aug 2004

..and consumers adding the TD bottle to their repertoire.

Figure 2.2

Consumer Careline received many calls from consumers congratulating the


company on the new bottle format.
Obviously the potential threat was cannibalisation of the existing
ketchup bottle formats. The predicted cannibalisation was 85%, but when
the data came through it was even more encouraging, at a little over 60%
(Figure 2.2).

A top-down revolution

The launch was rolled out into 14 countries across Europe, with similar
results. After six months, it was clear the new top-down format was working
and it could be the future of Heinz Tomato Ketchup.
So, by 2004, it was time for the next stage of research to see what con-
sumers thought of more Heinz Tomato Ketchup being turned on its head. It
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A new bottle design

• More icon cues

- eyebrows
- facets
- 57

• More prominent than current bottle

Figure 2.3

was also clear that if top-down was going to be the future of Heinz Tomato
Ketchup, then the bottle needed to reflect all the iconic values of the first
Heinz Tomato Ketchup bottle that was patented in 1882.
This led to the symbol of Heinz Tomato Ketchup taking another evolu-
tionary twist. The “eyebrows”, facets and “57” embossing were all made more
prominent than on the original top-down bottle, bringing it much closer in
line with the glass shape (Figure 2.3).

Clear-cut results

A study was commissioned from Research International in three coun-


tries across Europe – the UK, Belgium and Sweden. The results were very
clear:
18 M A R K E TI NG E XC E L LE N C E

The future is top-down

2 00 4

2003

New shape
2002
roll out
Top Down across range
2001
Turning
Eazy Squirt ketchup on
1999 kids’ brand Its head
Green Sauce launched
launched
1987 Brand Big hype
revamped 5% value
Iconic values share peak
1st plastic strengthened
bottles hit
shelves

Figure 2.4

• consumers loved the new top-down bottle (Figure 2.4);


• once people had tried the bottle they significantly preferred it to other
ketchup bottles;
• the company still had some consumers who were loyal to the glass bottle
and they should not be alienated;
• consumers wanted to be reassured that only the packaging had changed
and that it was still the same Heinz Tomato Ketchup they know and love
inside.

Heinz Tomato Ketchup’s share of the market by value reached 77.5% by


the end of December 2004, up from 72.8% in 2003. Volume share also
increased from 64.1% to 66.5%.
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Current Top-Down family

460g PMP 460g 570g 700g 910g 1.2 kg 910g + 30%


Free
(Also available
= 1.2 kg
as 460g + 20%
Free = 570g)

Oct 2004 March 2005

Top Down HTK now represents over 70% of HTK sales.

Figure 2.5

Extending the range

In October 2004, two further sizes of the new top-down bottle were launched
in the UK, and the final two sizes were launched in March 2005 (Figure 2.5).
One glass Heinz Tomato Ketchup bottle was retained for the loyal glass
consumers.

All images appearing in this case study are reproduced by permission of


Heinz.

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