Tomatoes are about the only attribute these two have in common, so the choice comes down to personal preference. Heinz is spicier, with distinct Worcestershire notes. Market Pantry has mostly tomato flavor, which comes through precisely because it’s not as spicy. The flavor differences are apparent straight from the bottle or with fries.
With that conclusion, summarized briskly in workmanlike prose by journalists you’ve never heard of, Gladwell’s Grand Unifying Theory of Ketchup–which he was allowed to present in painstaking detail (and 5,000 words) in the nation’s most prestigious magazine–simply turns to air.
The background is in the Globe article.
Cheap Talk 
3 comments
Comments feed for this article
September 14, 2010 at 4:27 pm
Ian Leslie
Correct me if I’m wrong, but doesn’t this just mean that one person (two people?) preferred another brand to Heinz? I don’t think MG was claiming that nobody on earth preferred other ketchups. The question he begins is about why Heinz’s market leadership has never been challenged – that remains true.
September 14, 2010 at 5:10 pm
jeff
True. But I wonder why Heinz market leadership is really support for his thesis. If there is an innate ketchup-grammar then it should be easy to replicate and the market would be shared at least a little bit. I compare with American lagers. There is no dispute that the ideal recipe (and I mean for the vast majority of American tastes, not mine and I would assume not yours) exists and Budweiser makes it. But so does Miller, Coors, etc.
September 15, 2010 at 4:33 am
Ian Leslie
OK well maybe but it’s still odd that this one consumer report is meant to demolish Gladwell’s thesis (and by the way the market is shared at least a little bit, isn’t it?).
I actually don’t agree with MG’s argument either (though as ever I loved reading the essay) but for different reasons: I think he underestimates the importance of intangible brand values – familiarity, trust, warmth – to Heinz’s staying power (as well as distribution etc). You do the same thing when you say there’s no dispute that Bud is the ideal recipe. I don’t how it would do in blind tests, but I suspect the proportion of people preferring it would be far lower than its market share. It may be the ideal brand, and not the ideal recipe.