The food giant says it is appealing to the 24% of people who enjoy eating the strange-sounding combo – but it will only be on shelves for four weeks
In a move that might cause Italians to boil over Heinz has created a ketchup pasta sauce.
Costing £2.50 it is the first of Heinz’s pasta sauces to contain ketchup, which makes up 10% of the product alongside tomato puree, which makes up 84%. Heinz said it settled on 10% in order to achieve the taste of ketchup while also ensuring the flavours mixed well with the pasta sauce, which contains other ingredients including vinegar, olive oil and herbs and spices.
A poll by Heinz found that 59% of us considered it unacceptable to put ketchup on pasta. However, 24% had no objection to the idea of using the condiment as a sauce, with those most likely to be open to it aged between 18 and 34. Some 29% have previously tried adding ketchup to their pasta, with 8% doing so regularly and 11% occasionally.
Heinz new ventures director Caio Fontenele said: 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.” The limited edition Tomato Ketchup Pasta Sauce is available from October 4 at Tesco stores and heinztohome.co.uk for four weeks.