New and improved (and larger) ketchup packets

At last somebody at Heinz figured out that the old single-serve packets are too small, too messy, and too difficult to open. In their place comes "Dip and Squeeze" packets that not only hold three times as much ketchup, but can be used two ways: by squeezing the condiment out through one end or by peeling back the lid for dipping. Wendy's will be introducing them later this year and they're in the testing stage at McDonald's and Burger King. To develop the new packet, reports the WSJ, Heinz had consumers in 20 fake minivan interiors put ketchup on fries, burgers, and chicken nuggets.

Heinz believes traditional ketchup packets are so annoying that they stop people from ordering fries at drive-thrus. "Fry inclusion orders" at drive-thrus "have been going down for years," says John Bennett, vice president of food-service ketchup, condiments and sauces for Heinz. A large, wedge-shaped packet almost made it onto the market but Heinz ditched the design months before its planned introduction in 2008. Mr. Okoroafor declines to say what Heinz spent developing the "Dip and Squeeze." In 2006, when activist investor Nelson Peltz battled Heinz for board seats, he pushed the company to make a number of changes, large and small, including developing easier-to-open ketchup packets.