A dollop of fresh research from Heinz sauces highlights loyalty

15th January 2010, 12:55pm

In a new report, caterers from across foodservice had a few things to say about Heinz, what the name stands for and why they believe it is crucial to business operations.

Here are 10 top insights into caterers' thoughts on the iconic dynamic duo, Heinz Tomato Ketchup and HP Brown Sauce…

1. Heinz loyalists felt it was worth paying more for Heinz, citing that it was worth paying the extra 2p per sachet for Heinz over own-label.

2. Respondents often felt they could personally tell the difference but convinced themselves their customers would not.

3. No caterer using Heinz Tomato Ketchup is actively looking for a better product – Heinz was the gold standard, there was no better tasting product to be found.

4. A number of Heinz loyalists did feel that swapping from a product they knew came with risks; customer rejection and complaint, poorer taste and poorer appearance.

5. Among the Heinz loyal customers who had tried other ketchups, it was the customers who largely drove a return to Heinz – their comments showing the alternative was not something that could be "got away with".

6. The majority of users who use Heinz in unbranded ramekins front of house would not take a chance to save money as performance as an ingredient was still important.

7. There was agreement among brand users that own-label brown sauces are not as good as brands in taste terms.

8. Most caterers were prepared to pay a premium for a brand, but for non-Heinz users, price was the key reason for not purchasing the Heinz brand. They need convincing!

9. In the fish and chips shops, there was a split between Heinz branded products sold to for customers to take away and table-top dispensers filled with an own label sauce. Obviously in house they need convincing of the bradn benefits. Note: In fish and chip shops, Heinz branded product (SqueezMe!) enjoys over 50% distribution

10. There was evidence that branded display 'units'/display canisters help encourage loyalty

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