Heinz is the undisputed ketchup king with more than 60% market share. But when it comes to mustard, the brand is mere commoner, barely registering a sales blip at grocery stores.
How can this be, when ketchup and mustard go together like salt and pepper? The short answer is that Heinz hasn’t put much energy behind the yellow condiment. While Heinz mustard is widely available in foodservice accounts — like restaurants — grocery distribution has been limited, mostly confined to co-packaging with relish and ketchup as part of a “picnic pack.”
That will soon change with the launch of a new reformulated Heinz mustard that the marketer plans to distribute widely. A new campaign (above), by David, seeks to leverage the brand’s ketchup strength using the tagline “Ketchup’s Got a New Mustard.”
“We are trying to kill the autopilot effect … where people don’t think too much about yellow mustard,” said Eduardo Luz, president of Heinz’s North American division. “It’s a funny, light way to connect Heinz mustard with ketchup.”
The launch comes nearly two years after Heinz was acquired by 3G Capital and Berkshire Hathaway. Heinz last month announced a merger with Kraft Foods Group in a deal that was also orchestrated by 3G and Berkshire.
The mustard launch could offer clues about how the newly combined company will seek to grow its brands, which mostly are sold in sluggish and mature center-of-store categories. “It’s a logical line extension for them to position the combined company stronger in the ketchup-mustard and all-other condiment industry,” said Rick Shea, a former packaged-food marketing executive and president of Shea Marketing. He noted that Heinz mustard could be a nice complement to Kraft’s Grey Poupon brand. Synergy opportunities also exist with Kraft’s Oscar Mayer hot dog brand.
Mr. Luz declined to comment on the merger, which is expected to close in the second half of 2015.
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SOURCE: Adage
E.J. Schultz
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