Condiments at war and hot dog is the battlefield

NEW YORK, April 23 — Like the Gingham Dog and Calico Cat, Heinz ketchup and French’s mustard have sat side by side in the condiments aisle for more than a century.

Now, they are squaring off for what promises to be a terrible spat. Heinz, the Great Dane of ketchup, has retooled its much less well-known mustard with plans to chip away at French’s dominance.

Not to be outdone, French’s, the Savannah cat of mustard, is muscling its way into the ketchup lineup, convinced that it can steal market share.

“Oh, I don’t think it’s a war so much,” said Elliott Penner, president of French’s Food Co, which is owned by the Reckitt Benckiser Group, which also owns brands like Clearasil and Woolite. “I think it’s just about doing a better job of making ketchup.”

Eduardo Luz, president of Heinz North America, echoed that.

“Look, we believe there is a huge opportunity to grow the market,” Luz said. “The way we do that at Heinz is we come up with something that’s superior quality.”

Heinz dominates the US$753.5 million (RM2.72b) ketchup business in the United States, accounting for 62 per cent of sales in the 52 weeks that ended March 22, according to IRI, a Chicago-based market research company.

French’s won 40 per cent of US$428 million in US mustard sales in that period.

US condiment sales have been less than piquant over the last several years. Sales of ketchup and mustard, the No 2 and No 4 condiments — mayonnaise is first and barbecue sauce is third - were almost flat at US$1.2 billion in the 52 weeks that ended March 22, according to IRI. And the amount, or volume, of ketchup and mustard sold fell two per cent.

“That’s what’s happening in virtually every condiment category out there,” Penner said. “Prices have been increasing, but volumes declining.”

Each company hopes to reverse that trend and revive consumer interest in ketchup and mustard just in time for the summer grilling season. French’s is introducing its Classic Yellow Mustard in a sweet version, with brown sugar, and a spicy version, infused with cayenne pepper.

“What we tell our retail partners is that we have a responsibility to grow the category, not just take away market share,” Luz said.

Each company attributes its move onto the other’s turf to the business they do supplying condiments to sports arenas, restaurants and other venues. Such customers prefer to deal with one supplier, and so French’s has long sold ketchup in little packets while Heinz has sold mustard. Luz and Penner said consumers often asked why they could not buy the ketchup labeled French’s or the mustard labelled Heinz.

“For a long time, we’ve debated that internally,” Penner said. “But if we didn’t do something better, why do it? We think now we’ve found a way to do it better.”

So as Heinz moves big into mustard, French’s ketchup is showing up cheek by jowl with Heinz Ketchup on grocery shelves, pointedly noting the absence of high-fructose corn syrup, an ingredient that is increasingly frowned upon by consumers craving simplicity in what they eat, as well as its lack of artificial flavor, colors and preservatives.

That trend has caused a number of food companies to reformulate beloved products. Kraft Food Group, which is merging with Heinz, recently announced it was replacing artificial dyes in its famous Macaroni and Cheese with colorings derived from spices like paprika and turmeric, the latter of which has long given French’s Yellow Mustard its vivid colour.

High-fructose corn syrup

“It’s nice to have a product that has always been in tune with what consumers today are looking for,” Penner said.

Heinz also sells ketchups free of high-fructose corn syrup but it does not promote that much. Its spokeswoman even avoided confirming the absence of high-fructose corn syrup in Simply Heinz, a variety free of preservatives and artificial ingredients.

Luz said the company’s ketchup business was growing again, thanks to the addition of jalapeño- and sriracha-flavoured varieties. The flavored varieties are priced higher than Heinz’s regular ketchup, a 14-ounce bottle of which sells for US$2.49 at a Food Emporium store in New York. At the same store, the sriracha variety sells for US$3.69.

In contrast, a 20-ounce bottle of French’s new ketchup sells for US$2.29 at the same store. Heinz has also begun a new marketing campaign for ketchup that evokes what Luz called “family moments.”

“We are doing our part” to encourage more people to buy ketchup, he said. “In the end, the consumer will choose.” — Stephanie Strom/New York Times