Leveraging Consumer Segments Who are Interested in Bold Flavors
As an innovative brand strategy example, ketchup is not the first product that would typically come to mind. But Heinz is defying expectations with its Pickle Ketchup. Heinz is the market leader in tomato ketchup, which has estimated annual revenues of $6.07 billion in the US, growing at around 2% in dollars in 2025, and 0.2% in unit volume.
Ketchup is ubiquitous, and popular with both children and adults. In 2024, over 310 million Americans used ketchup, while 218 million used salsa. Ketchup also outstrips salsa in volume. For comparison, US population is about 340 million—only 30 million Americans avoid ketchup!
Brand Strategy Example:
Ketchup vs. Salsa
Despite ketchup’s greater popularity, on dinner tables and restaurant tables, salsa has been growing and surpasses ketchup in dollar revenues. Ketchup is relatively inexpensive compared with salsa, and salsa revenues first outpaced ketchup over thirty years ago in 1992. The spicier flavor profile of salsa is one of the reasons given for salsa’s greater dollar growth, along with the popularity of Mexican foods and growth in the US Hispanic population. We previously explored the trend for spicy food innovation that Heinz and McDonald’s are doing to meet that demand (e.g., Habanero and Jalapeño Tomato Ketchup).
Brand Strategy Example:
How Do Pickles Figure In?
Pickles are another popular product category in the US, estimated at $3.3 billion in 2024, growing at 2%, similar to ketchup. And Kraft Heinz, the parent company of Heinz ketchup, markets pickles under the Claussen brand. Claussen brand pickle products include:
- Hot & Spicy Pickle Chips
- Sweet Bread ‘N Butter Pickle Chips
- Kosher Dill Pickle Chips, Halves, Sandwich Slices and Spears
Heinz Pickle Ketchup, introduced in 2024, brings together the familiar comfort food of ketchup, along with additional flavor impact of pickles, in a way that will appeal to middle-American tastes (i.e., the pickle ketchup has tang, but is not highly spicy).
Says Katie Peterson, director of Heinz Innovation at Kraft Heinz:
“Increased desire for tasty, yet unexpected condiments has served as our innovation north star for the last several years. The current pickle craze in America mirrors the irrational love HEINZ fans have for the brand, so it only made sense for our newest ketchup to blend these two beloved tastes together.”
Brand Strategy Example:
Target Consumer for Heinz Pickle Ketchup
The primary target consumer for most of Heinz flavor innovation is Millennial and Gen Z consumers who “actively seek a greater variety of spicy flavor options.”
An important secondary target consumer for Heinz Pickle Ketchup is “Foodies of all ages” who prefer bolder flavor options.
And another secondary target is Gen X and Boomer consumers who seek flavor variety and bolder flavor but stop short of being “Foodies” and may not want extreme spice. As we will see below, this may be as large as 45% of the adult population.
I put myself into this latter category, as I loved the taste of the Heinz Pickle Ketchup. While I enjoy spicy foods, I am definitely not a “fire mouth,” a term one of my friends uses to describe her taste preference for the hottest foods.
In Insight to Action experience, there is a range of consumer segments with different palate preferences in all age categories. Since Heinz Ketchup and pickles are very mainstream flavors, the taste of the Heinz Pickle Ketchup product can be expected to appeal to these more mainstream consumers as well. There may be a challenge for this brand strategy example, however: getting the attention of the largest target. “Foodies” and more adventurous consumers will be searching more actively and notice new products more quickly, while other consumers may be on “autopilot” at the grocery store.
Consumer Segmentation Example for Taste Preferences and Food Habits
In our experience, some 57% of US consumers say they like food with bold flavors, while just 18% say they dislike spicy foods. The interest in bolder flavors varies by consumer segment, and often associates with interest in trying different foods.
Let’s look at an example of these taste preferences from a consumer segmentation in prepared foods. These are motivationally-defined segments, not demographically-driven or age-driven. The purpose of this segmentation was to drive innovation, by defining SGOAs (strategic growth opportunity areas) at the intersection of segments and needs states. For more examples of an innovation strategy framework and how to scale new product innovation with SGOAs, we have several articles.
In this brand strategy example’s segmentation, there are eight category-specific segmenting dimensions and three lifestyle dimensions.
Within the category-specific dimensions, there is a dimension that pertains to trying new products and interest in variety. The opposite of interest in variety is the preference to eat the same thing most of the time. Within the lifestyle dimensions, there are also taste preferences, with some consumer segments preferring foods with bold flavor and spicier flavor, while other segments prefer familiar mainstream flavors.
Let’s look at just four motivational statements as an example, knowing there are many more making up the consumer segmentation.
Starting with interest in variety, 60% of consumers overall are strongly or somewhat interested in trying different foods. The 60% represents a top two box score on a six-point scale, and excludes those who are just slightly interested or disinterested. For the researchers, this is not the same as a five-point scale often used for new product concepts with a neutral midpoint.
Looking at the consumer segments, we can see there are two segments that are extremely interested to try different foods, Segment A with an 87% interest and Segment C with a 71% interest. Segment B also has a good level of interest in different foods at 64%, while Segment F has more people who are not open to trying new foods with a 36% top-two box score. Segments D and E also are below average, at around 50% top-two box each.
While we know the reality is many people eat the same things most of the time, in terms of their stated behavior, just over a quarter of people (27%) agree with this statement, which is clearly not variety seeking. Segment F is the high-water mark of this behavioral statement at 37%, while Segments A and C are least likely to agree with this.
Moving on to the interest in bolder flavor, some 57% of US adult consumers are interested in bold flavor. Of course, consumer segments will have different definitions of bold flavor, but there is interest. As we’ll see, Heinz Pickle Ketchup allows consumer to imagine its flavor, and many use words that could associate with bolder.
Consumer Segment A has the greatest interest in bolder flavor at 76% top-two box, while Segment C is second highest at 69% and Segment B is also high at 66%. Segments D, E, and F are all lower on the interest in bold flavor.
Adding this up, then, suggests that 45% of consumers are interested in bolder flavors (adding up the sizes of Segments A, B, and C as primary targets), and Heinz Pickle Ketchup can tap into those preferences. Meanwhile, original Heinz Ketchup appeals to the 55% of those who prefer familiar flavors (adding up Segments D, E, and F). As far as brand strategy examples go, this one has an impressive ability to theoretically appeal to 100% of the market.
Broad Census Region Taste Preferences Combines with Market Size Inform Targeting
Some who read this assessment may question whether Americans still prefer familiar flavors and are less interested to try new foods. And, of course, this finding does vary by generation.
On a cruise this summer, I spoke with Boomer consumers who actively disliked the Asian food offering at the specialty restaurant Red Ginger on the Oceania Sirena and strongly preferred the more mainstream steak and Italian offerings at the specialty restaurant Tuscan Steak. One consumer even went so far as to say he wished there was not a Red Ginger, and would prefer a specialty Italian restaurant and a specialty steak restaurant, as there are on sister vessels, such as the Regatta with the Polo Grill and Tuscana. I am impressed by how Oceania addresses the range of consumer preferences with its menu offerings. Whether the consumer prefers familiar foods or something bolder, there are several choices.
Personally, while I found both restaurants excellent, Red Ginger was the best meal we had on the cruise. This particular group of consumers had a Midwest concentration, from secondary and smaller markets, places where “different foods” aren’t as widely available. Large cities with diverse populations, like Los Angeles, where I live currently and Chicago, where I lived for many years, have more food variety readily available, making it easier for those who are interested to try different foods.
Several years ago, we worked on a consulting project to understand the popularity of Asian foods in the Midwest, and clearly there is considerable demand, but not necessarily as much availability.
For instance, the fast-food chain Panda Express, with its much-loved orange chicken, using US Census regions, reveals the West region of the Census has the most Panda Express orange chicken available, followed by the South. Midwest comes in third place. Panda Express has 1,114 locations in the West, which represent 46% of its US locations. In the West Census region there are 610 Panda Express in California, followed by Arizona (115), Washington (70), Nevada (68), Colorado (57), Utah (48) and Oregon (49) then other states.
The second biggest geography for this chain is the South, with 818 locations (316 in Texas, 121 in Florida, 72 in Georgia, 43 in Virginia, followed by other states), totaling 34% of US locations. Third in line is the Midwest with 417 locations (17% of Panda Express US locations), led by Illinois (113), Ohio (57), Michigan (47), Missouri (46%), Indiana (44) and then other states. Least developed is the North East, with just 70 locations (3% of US locations), led by New Jersey (23), New York (20), and Pennsylvania at 17. Of course, there are many factors behind this location profile for Panda Express, including the company’s starting in Pasadena, California, competitive dynamics, fast food popularity (Florida is a hot bed), along with underlying demand. Disclaimers aside, there are likely still more consumers on Oceania from the West and South who favor Red Ginger than those from the Midwest.
We also explored previously how Thai food restaurants in the United States are familiarizing US consumers with Thai food, with over 10,000 locations currently. While we haven’t done the analysis, most likely, these Thai locations also show a similar concentration of locations in the West and South and less in the Midwest.
Brand Strategy Example:
Marketing for Heinz Pickle Ketchup
Heinz Pickle Ketchup is marketed with the tagline: “You Can Already Taste It.” It’s a clever brand strategy example. The digital advertising is a mock interview with consumers who readily describe what they expect Heinz Pickle Ketchup to taste like, even without trying it. Descriptions include “sweet, savory, magic, etc.” Consumers are intrigued by the idea, and the two familiar tastes together of Heinz ketchup and pickles make sense.
Heinz Pickle Ketchup’s marketing is part of the broader Heinz global umbrella brand campaign, “It Has to be Heinz” which features the “irrational love” the Heinz consumers have for Heinz ketchup, e.g., by getting Heinz tattoos, bringing Heinz ketchup to dinner parties, etc.
Introduced in 1876, Heinz Ketchup is the iconic core product that dominates the Heinz brand image today. From the beginning, the company had pickles and vinegar, and the Heinz brand label flags “Est. 1869” directly beneath Heinz to call attention to the brand’s heritage.
With the Heinz Pickle Ketchup marketing, the Heinz brand is nicely balancing appealing to consumers who are interested in bolder flavors, while offering the tried-and-true flavor profile of original Heinz ketchup for traditionalists and kids of all ages.
Heinz Brand Extension…No More Pickles Despite the Heritage
We’ve explored previous examples of brand extension for Barilla and Quaker.
Looking at Heinz in the US, the Heinz brand is well extended, with a range of condiment and sauce products, including:
- Heinz Dill Relish (introduced 1889)
- Heinz Mustard (introduced 1895)
- Heinz 57 (introduced 1911 as Heinz Beefsteak Sauce)
- Heinz Original BBQ Sauce (introduced 1940)
- Heinz Original Cocktail Sauce
- Heinz Mayochup (introduced in 2018, combining ketchup, mayonnaise and spices)
- Heinz Ranch Sauce (for foodservice)
- Heinz Kranch (introduced 2019 as a combination of ketchup and ranch dressing)
- Heinz HoneyRacha (introduced 2020)
- Heinz Sweet Ketchili (introduced 2021 ketchup and spicy Thais sweet chili sauce)
- Heinz Buffaranch (introduced 2021)
- Heinz Hot 57 (introduced 2023)
- Heinz Chipotle, Jalapeño and Habanero Ketchup (introduced 2023)
In the 1930’s, the Heinz brand reportedly had an even broader range of products including peanut butter, preserves and cream of celery soup.
Pickles are a founding product of Heinz, known as the “Pickle King.” Says Katie Peterson,
“Pickles are in our brand’s DNA, and no one knows pickles quite like HEINZ”
Despite the Heinz heritage in pickles (in 1897, the world’s largest pickle factory), and pickle’s fit with the brand, Claussen is the primary pickle brand used today by Kraft Heinz. Claussen, known for refrigerated pickles, came into the Kraft Heinz portfolio with the acquisition of Kraft in 2015. In 2023, Heinz confirmed that Heinz-branded Whole Original Sour Dill Pickles had been discontinued. Heinz removed the pickle image from the ketchup brand label in 2009, so it’s fun to see the pickle image back on the new Heinz Pickle Ketchup boldly featured.
While Claussen has a quality halo from refrigeration and pickle expertise, undoubtedly Heinz has a much higher brand awareness overall and has many raving fans, so this is an interesting brand strategy example of focusing on umbrella branding in many categories, but not in pickles.
Pricing for Heinz Pickle Ketchup at Walmart.com is higher at $3.83 for 13.5 ounces, compared with Heinz Original Ketchup at $3.13 for 14 ounces (22% higher on the absolute price or 27% more per ounce). Based on this, Heinz finds there is pricing upside in the Heinz brand, not just Claussen.
Heinz Pickle Ketchup is a good brand strategy example of brand extension that appeals to a broad segment of American consumer palates. Time will tell, but I am rooting for this new product to have lasting appeal as a condiment choice. For more brand strategy examples, visit our resources page, or join us at an upcoming office hours.
