Old Ketchup Packet Heads For Trash (1280l) - Middle School Reading Article Worksheet Page 2
ADVERTISEMENT
1
2
3
4Vale Middle School Reading Article
Old Ketchup Packet Heads for the Trash (1280L)
Notes on my thoughts,
Heinz says the new "Dip and Squeeze" packets will begin replacing the traditional rectangular
reactions and questions as I
ketchup packets later this year at Wendy's Co. restaurants. Smaller chains including Chick-fil-A
read:
Inc., Smashburger Master LLC, and International Dairy Queen Inc. started carrying the packets
earlier this year. McDonald's Corp. and Burger King Holdings Inc. are testing the packets but
declined to comment on the results.
As the name promises, "Dip and Squeeze" ketchup can be squeezed out through one end or the
lid can be peeled back for dipping. The red, bottle-shaped packets hold three times the ketchup
as traditional packets. The new containers are more expensive than the old sleeves, but Heinz
hopes customers learn not to grab more than one or two.
To develop the new packet, Heinz staffers sat behind one-way, mirrored glass, watching
consumers in 20 fake minivan interiors putting ketchup on fries, burgers, and chicken nuggets. To
try new prototypes himself, Mike Okoroafor, Heinz vice president of global packaging innovation
and execution, bought a used minivan, taking it to local McDonald's and Wendy's drive-thrus to
order fries and apply ketchup in the confined space. "I wasn't going to use my car—too messy,"
he says.
For decades, Heinz has searched for better single-serve packets. The company has tried making
them bigger, easier to open, or attachable to a cup of French fries. None of the changes could be
made cheaply or solve customers' main complaints—the single-serve packets are messy, hard to
open and don't provide enough ketchup. For about the past decade, Heinz sold two single-serve
containers: the classic squeeze packet and a dipping cup.
Heinz believes traditional ketchup packets are so annoying that they stop people from ordering
fries at drive-thrus. "Fry inclusion orders" at drive-thrus "have been going down for years," says
John Bennett, vice president of food-service ketchup, condiments and sauces for Heinz.
The new packets cost Heinz several times more to produce than the old rectangular pouches it
has been selling for over 40 years. The new containers cost restaurants more than three times
the old packets, as well, which could give pause to some chains. Restaurants give ketchup away,
so "cost is king," says Amy Coltrin, senior director of product development for Golden State Foods
Corp., a Heinz competitor that supplies private-label ketchup to most McDonald's in the U.S.
Stuart Leslie, president of 4sight Inc., a package-design firm based in New York that worked with
Heinz, says the package subtly cues the consumer about the portion. Shaped like a bottle of
Heinz ketchup and larger than the traditional packets, the "Dip and Squeeze" packs signal, "This
is a serving, this is a bottle of ketchup," Mr. Leslie says. "You actually don't need 16 bags of
ketchup."
Early tests at Chick-fil-A show the potential cost problems: consumers took more ketchup with the
new packets, according to Chick-fil-A surveys of about 50 restaurants over several months. But
the survey also indicated that customers strongly preferred the new packets. Some consumers
appeared to be hoarding the new packets, says Brian Wray, manager of brand strategy and
design at the Atlanta-based fast-food chain. He expects use will plateau as the novelty wears off
and people learn how much they need.
Other restaurants, including Smashburger and Dairy Queen, that conducted similar tests say
people are using about the same or less ketchup.
On a recent afternoon inside a Chick-fil-A in Atlanta, Bruce Stanford is skeptical. The 55-year-old
worries he might rip off the cover and douse himself with ketchup before digging into his chicken
sandwich, fries and iced tea. But after using it, the hospital admissions employee from Marietta,
Ga., stays clean. "I get the concept," he says. "You squeeze on the sandwich and dip for fries."
Nassauer, S. Old ketchup packet heads for trash. The Wall Street Journal. Sept. 20, 2011.
ADVERTISEMENT
0 votes
Related Articles
Related forms
Related Categories
Parent category: Education