Heinz Remix: new sauce dispenser can make more than 200 flavors

Oct 07, 2023

Heinz wants to give you more freedom to customize your condiments – a lot more freedom.

The maker of ketchup, sauces and other food products long ago surpassed the 57 varieties touted on its labels. Now, it's developed Heinz Remix, a machine that lets you choose from more than 200 sauce combinations to top your hot dog, hamburger or other dish.

The Heinz Remix, which gets its debut Saturday at the 2023 National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago, lets customers use a digital touchscreen to choose from a range of sauce "bases," such as Heinz Ketchup, Heinz 57, Ranch and BBQ sauces. They can then add specially developed sauce "enhancers" such as jalapeño, smoky chipotle, buffalo, and mango – at low, medium, or high settings – "to further personalize their sauce with just the right amount of sweetness and/or spiciness," said Alan Kleinerman, vice president of disruption for Kraft Heinz.

An example of a resulting customized sauce: Smoky Buffalo Ranch.

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The company's goal is to begin deploying Heinz Remix machines in test markets later this year and early 2024 with movie theaters, baseball stadiums, and restaurants among target locations.

"We believe the possibilities for Heinz Remix are limitless when it comes to dining anywhere away from your home," said Peter Hall, Kraft Heinz's president for U.S. away from home and ingredients.

While it's referred to as a machine, the Heinz Remix "isn't just a machine," Hall said. "It's a real-time insights generator that will change the way we work with and, importantly, the way we drive value for foodservice operators."

Restaurants, stadiums and other sites can track customers' preferences for sauces and better gauge demands to adjust their inventories, Hall said. Technology within the Heinz Remix also relays sauce trends to Heinz for future product considerations.

With sales of hot sauces up nearly 15% over a year ago – leading to, among other things, a Shiracha sauce shortage – Heinz has already been expanding its sauce offerings, most recently with new flavors of Heinz ketchups with chipotle, jalapeño and habanero and a new Heinz Hot 57 Sauce.

With insights from Heinz Remixes all over the U.S., the sauce giant could come up with all kinds of new combinations.

"As a consumer-obsessed company at the forefront of food culture, we saw an exciting opportunity to innovate around our core customers and consumers' evolving needs and desires," Kleinerman said. "This includes finding new flavors and ways for consumers to experience and experiment with their favorite condiments, and driving value for foodservice operators in ways that will make their lives easier and keep their guests coming back."

Follow Mike Snider on Twitter: @mikesnider.

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