An insult to Italy? Heinz launches tomato ketchup pasta sauce - and it's already dividing opinion
27 September 2023, 09:02
In a move that looks set to divide opinion, sauce connoisseur Heinz has announced the launch of its first tomato ketchup pasta sauce.
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Costing £2.50 a bottle, the all-new recipe contains 10% Heinz tomato ketchup - despite only 24% of consumers believing the combination is acceptable.
The first Heinz pasta sauce to contain the popular cupboard staple, the condiment is paired with tomato sauce puree - which makes up 84% of each bottle, alongside vinegar, olive oil, herbs and spices.
Heinz new ventures director, Caio Fontenele, put it simply: “Never say never!"
An all-new limited-edition release, the combination of pasta and ketchup has long been branded an outrage by some food purists.
Particularly given more than half of people surveyed (59%) said they considered the combination wholly unacceptable.
According to the Opinium survey of 2,000 UK consumers, the most likely to be open to the combination of ketchup and pasta are those aged between 18 and 34.
Caio Fontenele. said: “Never say never! Whether ketchup was originally intended to go on pasta or not, we couldn’t help but listen to the love our fans share on social media for the combination.
“So, we’ve brought together our Heinz Pasta Sauce and Heinz Tomato Ketchup to give you the pasta sauce we’ve all been dreaming of. While some might say it’s ridiculously wrong, we think it’s simply, ridiculously good.”
Read more: Britain's most over-priced sandwich? Pret slammed for cheese baguette with 'rip-off' price tag
Founded by Henry J. Heinz in Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania, in 1869, the Heinz brand rose to prominence courtesy of its historic '57' varieties advertising campaign - a number that's still visible on each and every label.
The limited-edition Tomato Ketchup Pasta Sauce will be available from at Tesco stores and the Heinz website for a limited four week period from October 4.
