While Kraft Heinz is often associated with its ketchup and other condiments, the company has been almost completely absent from the hot sauce segment to date. Now, the mega-company debuts new spicy versions of Heinz Ketchup. The new Heinz Hot Varieties line adds spice from different peppers to the classic sauces to create different levels of heat. There are three levels of spicy ketchup: chipotle for medium spice, Jalapeno for a hot spice, and Habanero for extra hot spice.
The global hot sauce market is on track to surpass $4.9 million by 2026, with a compound annual growth rate of 7.9%. Based on consumer research, Heinz found that as the hot sauce segment has matured, so have consumers’ perceptions of it. They don’t just want generic mild, medium, and hot sauces. They care about the peppers that give the sauces their heat.
The sauces are the newest innovations for Kraft Heinz to drive growth, as this segment represents 30% of Kraft Heinz’s total products and drives more than $8 billion in net sales.
Heinz Ketchup on its own is one of the company’s top-selling brands, with more than $1 billion in sales annually. It’s one of the brands the company has designated as a candidate for growth. The brand has strong margins, is in a good market position, and does better than the average Kraft Heinz brand.
Items like Spicy Ketchup and Hot 57 Sauce are just the beginning of Kraft Heinz’s innovations planned for 2023. The company is planning to deliver 80% more innovations in 2023 compared to last year. The company is making bigger bets—like creating plant-based versions of some of its iconic cheeses—and using research to better inform what they are doing.