Heinz just solved a problem ketchup lovers have grappled with for decades.
We've all been there: You're about to douse your french fries with a generous heaping of the popular condiment and then, suddenly, the beautifully smooth flow of ketchup stalls. Frustrated, you start whacking the bottle or grab a butter knife to get the ketchup out.
The struggle is real, we know.
Luckily, the ketchup experts at Heinz Canada decided to craft a solution for this common quandary. The company recently partnered with creative agency Rethink Canada to create oddly angled labels that actually help people achieve the perfect pouring angle. Now we just want to know what took them so long.
At first glance, the labels look like a manufacturing defect, but when you turn the bottle on its side to properly read the label, it will be at the optimal angle to pour ketchup without struggling. Ta-da!
In an ad for the new "Pour-Perfect Bottle," grocery shoppers seem a bit perplexed when they first come across the wonky labeled bottles. As they start to turn the bottle, however, their purpose becomes clear.
Brian Neumann, senior brand manager at Kraft Heinz Canada, explained the inspiration behind the unconventional labels in an interview withAdAge.
"This year, we have focused our marketing on reinforcing the emotional connection fans have with the brand in clever and ownable ways," he said. "We're always thinking of fun, cheeky ways we can highlight the iconic and timeless nature of the product to give our consumers a smile."
The tilted angles are pretty darn ingenious, but sadly they were only briefly available in Canada for a quick trial run earlier this month. Heinz has some pretty loyal Team Ketchup fans, though, so we wouldn't be surprised if the brand re-releases the bottles at a later date.
This is not the first time ketchup fans have used a bit of math and science to figure out the best way to pour the tasty condiment from a glass bottle. A few years ago, a Heinz spokesperson confirmed that there's a pretty simple trick to achieving the best ketchup flow possible.
“The sweet spot to tap on the Heinz bottle is the 57 on the neck,” they told TODAY Food. “All you need to do is apply a firm tap where the bottle narrows, and the ketchup will come out easier.”
An ad campaign also shows off that nifty trick.
The 57 trick and the Pour-Perfect labels both work best when you tip the glass bottle at an angle. A Heinz Canada spokesperson told Food & Wine the labels are twisted at an angle between 35 - 45 degrees, and that 45 degrees seems to be the most common angle for pouring.
The more you know, right?