ketchup

How much of our lives is completely connected to color? How many objects that we see on a daily basis do we just assume are always going to be a certain color? This question was answered for us, sometime in 2000, with the introduction of green ketchup. While to most people over the age of the eight, this seems like a ridiculous idea, it may have been one of the best marketing ideas of the past decade.

"Today's kids are exposed to lots of vibrant colors and animation, and they expect these same experiences at the dinner table," said Gene Grabowski, spokesperson for the Grocery Manufacturers Association.

With kids being the number one consumers of ketchup, why not market it toward them? Once news of the new ketchup color spread, Heinz got requests for pre release samples, from families, schools, and churches.

To many, ketchup is red, it always has been and we thought it always would be. But it was brilliant to introduce a new color to things. What Heinz thought they would sell in a year they ended up shipping out in the first ninety days. To kids, it doesnt matter if it's green, red, or purple; it still tasted like ketchup and on top of it all its fun. so while many thought green ketchup may be a bad idea, at first it was one of the greatest marketing ideas of all time.
While I couldn't find why or for what reasons, I did find that Heinz discontinued the production of colored ketchups in January of 2006. Maybe ketchup is supposed to be red after all.
"It's Easy Being Green" http://pittsburgh.about.com/library/weekly/aa101700a.htm 13 February, 2008