"ketchup bottle" news and stories

Heinz has a very unusual new marketing idea, offering customized labels for bottles of their products. They are not the only company to offer custom imprinting, but surely they are the only condiment company. And who would have thought that custom ketchup would be a draw in the first place?

At MyHeinz.com you can select one of five different products and add either an "everyday message" or a "custom message" to it. The everyday messages include: Happy Birthday, Happy Anniversary (would only recommend this in conjunction with another anniversary gift - like a barbecue) and Get Well Soon. The custom message can be almost anything, so get creative.

Heinz suggests that the bottles are appropriate for birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, family reunions and tailgating. We're still not sold on the anniversary idea, but those last two occasions actually seem like ketchup would be a perfect topper for them, not to mention the fact that a kid would be thrilled to see his or her name on ketchup put out at their birthday party.

Source

Sure, everyone has a method for getting ketchup out of the bottle. Tapping the neck of a Heinz bottle with the base of my palm, right around the "57" has always worked for me. Robert Allgeyer inverts this method, however. Over at Bob's Diner, he has a whole page dedicated to the mechanics of ketchup pouring. According to Bob, it's all about increasing the flow of air into the bottle and giving the ketchup an extra push by tapping the neck of the bottle from underneath. In a footnote, Bob admits that an open palm is actually a little better than a fist. I had the open hand part right, but apparently I was applying my G-forces in the wrong direction.

[Image: Robert Allgeyer]