The Sneaky Way You Can Tell If A Restaurant's Bottle Of Ketchup Is Really Heinz Brand

While product theft is not an uncommon occurrence, stealing from a very famous ketchup brand is definitely not something that makes the news every day. However, Heinz Ketchup (recently deemed the best of the best among popular ketchup brands by Chowhound) decided to do something about this reoccurring issue in March 2023, adding a red border onto its ketchup bottles' logos in order for customers to check if they're being served genuine Heinz-branded ketchup. The company pinpointed its condiment's iconic red color and put it on the bottle's label (down to the exact Pantone shade) to let buyers know that it wasn't the real Heinz if the color didn't match the ketchup inside the bottle.

Heinz even created a campaign called "Is That Heinz?" alongside advertising agency Wunderman Thompson in order to showcase ketchup bottles in restaurants across Turkey claiming to serve Heinz ketchup. The results were incredible. According to Contagious, 97% of customers who compared were able to recognize the imposter ketchup brands and Heinz saw a 24% increase in its ketchup being consumed among vendors serving street food in Turkey. Heinz also released an Instagram filter to verify ketchup bottles, stating that the label and ketchup must match up to confirm that customers are being served Heinz ketchup.

While the "Is That Heinz?" campaign was extremely successful, the brand was not going to stop there. Later that same year, Heinz partnered with the paint brand Lick to release a paint in the iconic ketchup red: "Red HTK 57." Only 570 cans were sold of the limited edition paint, making this particular ketchup-red paint color ultra rare. And yes, it may have just been a stunt for attention. Paul McEntee, founder of the agency Here Be Dragons, told The Drum that he believed the campaign was "pure entertainment," since people probably don't "want to cover their homes in the same color as their condiment." However, Lick cangain new customers and Heinz will, in McEntee's words, gain "cool points ... by partnering with a disrupter brand." Since both brands come out victorious, what is there to lose? While the entire concept may be silly to outsiders, each party has something to gain in their partnership.

In early 2024, Heinz also launched "The Wait," showcasing the 70% of consumers who would rather wait for their side of ketchup than start eating when at a restaurant. The campaign stated that "If you are willing to wait [for ketchup], it has to be Heinz." Within recent years, Heinz has been showcasing its marketing genius and doubling down on its iconic shade of red. Whether it be on the bottle or on the wall, consumers will recognize that color for centuries to come.