In 2000, Heinz came up with the ‘brilliant’ idea of changing the colour of their ketchup from the traditional red to a variety of different colours including green, purple, and blue. As Sandie Glass writes in her blog, What Were They Thinking? The Day Ketchup Crossed The Line From Perfect To Purple, Heinz erred in not targeting the proper audience – parents, as well as failing to find an efficient method to produce the products in a timely fashion. Although these reasons all had some effect on the success of crazy coloured ketchup, I believe that the main reason why Heinz failed with this is because the idea itself is simply not a good one. Ketchup is something that every person in the world associates with red, and this fundamental feature of it cannot be changed. The idea of putting any other coloured ketchup on my food just doesn’t seem right. The same goes for any other common food item that has been around for a long time. Mustard is yellow, relish is green, carrots are orange, and blueberries are blue. Changing any of these colours ruins the reputation that product has developed over the years. Innovative ideas and product improvements should be encouraged by all companies, but fundamental changes to the core values of products should not. Heinz should never have bothered with the idea of changing the colour of their most well-known product.

Link:http://www.fastcompany.com/1779591/what-were-they-thinking-the-day-ketchup-crossed-the-line-from-fun-food-to-play-food