Packing a killer punch, again

Heinz's easy-squeeze, "upside-down" plastic bottle was a bit of packaging genius. It solved a real problem (ketchup getting stuck in the bottle). And it was sold at a premium to the iconic glass bottle, making it more profitable.

And now Heinz have come up with another pack that will soon be jumping off the supermarket shelf into my shopping trolley: a re-edition of the squeezy tomato. It reminds me of the packs you get in New York diners. And I just know my 3 girls will love it.

Yet another example of how powerful a source of differentiation packaging really can be. 

Comments

[Fergus]

To me this diminishes the brand. Fair enough it's a clever bit of packaging and I love the New York diner'ness of it. But, with the iconic glass bottle and with the upside down squeezy bottle the primary purchase decision is made on the basis of brand, "it's Heinz, it's better than other ketchups". The tomato is more likely to be bought primarily for the
packaging. In a strange way they've just commoditised something by way of premium packaging which is a pretty clever trick. They've moved from a playing field where "it's Heinz, it's better than other ketchups" was pretty much unchallengeable to one where anyone who can come up with cute packaging can compete on level terms. Bad move!