C U S TO M E R I N S I G H T 13

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 fi rst 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 fi rst 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 T I N G E XC E L L E 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 fi rst launched in the US in 1876, taking its place alongside other Heinz products from the innovative Henry J. Heinz, purveyor of fi ne 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 fi rst 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 “defi ning ketchup”.

In 1987, following extensive consumer research, the fi rst 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.”

C U S TO M E R I N S I G H T 15

• “It is diffi cult 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 defi nitely 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 benefi ts 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

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

• June 2003– 570g SKU launched

– £10.8m sales in the first 12 months

Figure 2.1

16 M A R K E T I N G E XC E L L E N C E

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

TK - Source of Change - Heinz TD TK

2,682,651

61,392

1,388,441

310,735

Switching Total

Increased MarketPurchasing

Added to Repertoire

New Market Buyers

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

60.4% of gains

1.4% of gains

31.2% of gains

7% of gains

Incremental volume from new market buyers

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

Figure 2.2

C U S TO M E R I N S I G H T 17

was also clear that if top-down was going to be the future of Heinz Tomato Ketchup, then the bottle needed to refl ect all the iconic values of the fi rst 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:

A new bottle design

• More icon cues

- eyebrows- facets- 57

• More prominent than current bottle

Figure 2.3

18 M A R K E T I N G E XC E L L E N C E

• consumers loved the new top-down bottle (Figure 2.4);• once people had tried the bottle they signifi cantly 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%.

1st plastic bottles hit shelves

1987

The future is top-down

1999

Brand revamped

Iconic values strengthened

2001

Green Sauce launched

Big hype

5% value share peak

2002

Eazy Squirt kids’ brand launched

Top Down

Turning ketchup on

Its head

2003

2004

New shaperoll out

across range

Figure 2.4

C U S TO M E R I N S I G H T 19

Current Top-Down family

460g PMP 460g 570g

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

700g 910g 1.2 kg 910g + 30% Free

= 1.2 kg

March 2005Oct 2004

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 fi nal 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.