After decades of research and development, Heinz seems to think they’ve found the perfect recipe. The perfect packaging recipe, that is. Earlier this month, the world’s dominant ketchup manufacturer released their most recent packaging innovation: the Dip & Squeeze packet.
The new packets are larger than the familiar single-serve rectangles we’re all familiar with. They hold more product—three times as much, actually—and offer diners two ways to enjoy their ketchup. Tear off the narrow end and squeeze, and you’ll have the familiar ketchup packet experience. Peel back the top label, and you can dip your fast food of choices—fries and nuggets work best, of course—directly into the ketchup.
What drove Heinz to make the change? They’re already occupy the top market position in most of the world. According to this Wall Street Journal article, the design of the traditional ketchup packet was causing problems. Customers complained that the packets were too small, too messy, and hard to open. Heinz believes that traditional ketchup packets are so annoying that they stop people from ordering fries at drive-thrus. It is those very people—fast food customers, particularly drive-thru customers—that Heinz needs to ultimately satisfy. Restaurants generally give ketchup packets away. They incur the expense because it’s an expected part of the American fast food dining experience. But if the performance of the ketchup is so sub-par that customers no longer purchase the fries, there is no incentive for the restauranteurs to keep buying and distributing the ketchup.
Brand Modeling: How To Put The Customer First
It was clear to Heinz that they needed to improve the drive-thru user’s experience with ketchup. What wasn’t so clear was exactly what needed improvement. What needed to be changed, and how could those changes be made in a way that created a product that was still, ultimately, a money maker for Heinz?
There are potentially a million ways to change the way ketchup is packaged and presented ketchup to the drive-thru user. Packets could be made smaller or larger, longer or shorter, softer or more rigid. The packet could be abandoned entirely, in favor of cups or tiny, individual bottles. The problem is that not all of these changes are guaranteed to be seen by the end user as an improvement. Even if a change is seen as an improvement, what impact will that have on customer’s purchasing behavior? How can companies know, in advance, that their innovation will be welcomed with open arms? Is there a way to tell what changes to a company’s products will lead their customers to buy more and which changes will cause them to reconsider doing business with you at all? (See: Heinz’ ill-fated colored ketchup line!)
Brand Modeling is the tool dominant organizations use to answer questions like these. By delving into the unconscious psychological behaviors that motivates any company’s best customers—for the Heinz example, we’d be looking specifically at the drive-thru customer—it becomes possible to predict, with a high degree of certainty, the impact changes will have before they’re made. That leaves business leaders in a position where they can make objective, apples-to-apples comparisons, streamlining organizational decision making.
If the new Heinz Dip & Squeeze Packet is successful, it will be because Heinz understands what the people who use ketchup packets most often want from the experience. The new packaging is delivering this in physical terms: there is more ketchup in each packet, and the packets are easier to open and use. Emotional wants and needs are being addressed as well. The new packets give the consumer a choice about how they want to enjoy their ketchup. They have control. The dining experience moves that much closer to the ideal that the customer is always seeking. The experience enjoyed is the experienced repeated, which leads the restaurant to sell more fries. It’s the perfect recipe for success!