FDBusiness.com

Following initial launch in the US, Heinz is now bringing its experimental blend of ketchup and mayonnaise Saucy Sauce to the UK. However, with a respective 1% and 5% growth in these markets expected by 2022, the condiments space may not make room for gimmicks, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

David Utley, Consumer Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The condiment market is already very saturated, with the two top-selling items being ketchup and mayonnaise. This is not set to change anytime soon. Both ketchup and mayonnaise will have predicted sales of 121.6 million kilograms (kg) and 37.6 million kg, respectively, by 2022. Compare this to cocktail sauces at 0.85 million kg and you will understand the challenges that Saucy Sauce will have to face.”

Besides market saturation, new experimental sauces may also not hit it off with the UK’s health-conscious shoppers, as 50% of residents say they are often or always influenced by the impact of health and wellbeing when choosing a product. A serving of Mayochup (Saucy Sauce’s US variant) has 16g of fat and 160 calories per 29g, which is closer to its Mayonnaise (11g of fat per 14g serving and 100 calories per 14g serving) than the brand’s low-calorie, no-fat ketchup.

David Utley continued: “A worry for the experimental sauce industry is the rising awareness from consumers about health and wellbeing. This works twofold. Firstly, the labelling does not depict a healthy sauce and secondly, this is the type of sauce that is paired with unhealthy food.”

This all raises questions as to whether we need this sauce at all, when it is very simple to mix mayonnaise and ketchup on a plate, and whether Saucy Sauce’s intention is to act as a marketing ploy to increase the sales of ketchup and mayonnaise further. If Saucy Sauce instead becomes a success, Heinz may face a conflict.

David Utley concludes: “If Heinz does manage to convince consumers to buy Saucy Sauce at all, the new product may affect the sales of Heinz’ Ketchup and Mayonnaise, as customers may choose to replace these products with the new sauce rather than take up precious cupboard space with a third condiment bottle. Heinz will have to convince the general public to either buy a third bottle, or to replace both ketchup and mayonnaise with Saucy Sauce, which will affect the sales of two of its biggest brands.”