Heinz’s New Breakfast Ketchup Is Real — and It’s Coming to a Diner Near You

The age-old breakfast debacle: to add ketchup or not to add ketchup to eggs? 

You never know when you reach for that ketchup bottle at brunch — whether it’s going to gross out people at the table or if you’ll find fellow ketchup lovers to relate to. While I’m definitely a hot sauce on my eggs kind of person, I’m also not one to judge. Breakfast is the first meal of the day, and condiments are a matter of personal choice. While some diners may tolerate the addition of ketchup on home fries, hash browns, or even eggs, most are particularly against ketchup on bacon.

But if you’re the type of person who enjoys ketchup on eggs and bacon, Heinz is here to show support for one side of the debate. For the first time in over 150 years, the classic American brand — best known for its condiments, canned foods, and snacks — is “strategically disrupting Americans’ morning routines” by rebranding its iconic ketchup as a breakfast condiment with a brand-new label: Breakfast Ketchup. 

Heinz Tomato Ketchup was first introduced in 1876 and has remained a staple in many households’ refrigerators. With this new campaign, Heinz, in collaboration with the advertising agency Wieden+Kennedy, aims to show consumers why ketchup can be a part of breakfast too — emphasizing that “ketchup at breakfast should be the norm, not the exception.” 

As stated on the brand’s website, the Breakfast Ketchup is the same exact formula as the Heinz Ketchup “that you know and love, reframed as an official breakfast condiment.” 

“For over 150 years, many pair the unmistakable taste of Heinz Ketchup with lunch and dinner, but one in four people also use it as their go-to condiment for breakfast,” the brand said in a statement provided to Food & Wine. “Now, for the first time ever, the global leader in ketchup is specifically turning its marketing focus to what science calls ‘the most important meal of the day.’”

As shared with Food & Wine, associate brand communications director at Heinz, Jamie Mack, says, “Go to any diner or breakfast spot in America, and you’ll almost certainly find a bottle of ketchup on the table. Yet, the question of whether ketchup belongs on breakfast foods is highly debated. Now, we’re taking a stand to show the world that Heinz ketchup is the perfect breakfast accoutrement.”

To further strategize the campaign, Heinz has placed digital OOH advertisements in NYC subways that show the ketchup in maple syrup glass bottles “to catch the attention of morning commuters and remind them that Heinz is the perfect build to any breakfast.”

Additionally, Heinz also partnered with The New York Times for a custom Wordle game ad buy, as well as Reddit, to create a bigger conversation around the “does ketchup go with breakfast?” debacle. 

“Our new 360-campaign is designed to celebrate the fans who already know how great Heinz is at breakfast, educate the haters on why Heinz’s rich and unmistakable flavor is perfect for any breakfast bite, and evoke curiosity from anyone who hasn’t considered the combination,” Mack explains.

The new labels will be placed on either the classic Heinz ketchup bottles, which will be available in 100 Waffle House locations nationwide, or on limited-edition maple syrup glass bottles available in nearly 50 local diners across Florida, Dallas, New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles. 

Acknowledging those who still don’t believe ketchup belongs with eggs or bacon, the brand makes its stance clear with a simple but bold slogan: “Ketchup is for breakfast.”