Are you paying too much for ketchup?

Are you paying too much for ketchup?

Jan 15, 2023

By Mike Thayer

Ketchup, I think there's probably a bottle in every refrigerator in America.  It's the condiment most folks reach for when eating french fries, hamburgers and yes even though it's taboo if you're from Chicago, hot dogs.  Tomato ketchup is also a base ingredient in making sauces and dressings, think BBQ, cocktail shrimp and Thousand Island.

A lot of folks are partial to Heinz, the top name brand when it comes to ketchup with a 60% market share.  Hunt's comes in at a distant second, with a 25% market share.  I'm not sure why people have such loyalty to a particular ketchup brand, it's not like they could single out their preferred brand in a blind taste test.  And it's not like a person doesn't put a fast food labeled packet of ketchup (not made by Heinz or Hunt's) on their burger or fries.  They don't say, "Oh, this restaurant doesn't use Heinz, so I won't be having any ketchup with my fries."

Name brands cost more (somebody has to pay for that marketing), so if there's not a distinguishable taste difference, why pay more for a not really superior ketchup?

The Ingredients

Tomato ketchup isn't a complicated recipe.

Heinz Ingredients:  Tomato concentrate from red ripe tomatoes, distilled vinegar, high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, salt, spice, onion powder, natural flavoring.

Hunt's Ingredients: Tomato concentrate made from vine ripened tomatoes, high fructose corn syrup, distilled vinegar, salt, less than 2% of: onion powder, natural flavors.

You see some of the marketing there, which you as a customer pays for, with the usage of "red ripe" and "vine ripened" tomatoes.  Sure, nice description, but who gives a rat's rear end about how flowery the ingredient description is?  Seriously.  And if you're into high fructose corn syrup and in the case of Heinz, regular corn syrup in addition to the high fructose variety, then Heinz is the brand for you.

And just what are those "natural flavors?"  According to the Food and Drug Administration, a natural flavoring is an essential oil or extract from a plant or animal source which can come from a variety of sources to include spices, herbs, fruits or fruit juice.

Below is the no-nonsense ingredient list from Burman's Ketchup, the Aldi discount brand.  They don't have a marketing team dressing up ingredient labels, no sales force pitching grocery store and restaurant chains, no merchandising folks pushing for top shelf and end cap displays at the grocery store.

Burman's Ingredients:  Tomato concentrate, sugar, distilled vinegar, salt, less than 2% of: onion powder, spices, natural flavors.

There's something to be said for simple and straight forward.  And hmmm...  No high fructose corn syrup.

Now let's look at cost.  Here are the prices for 38 ounce bottles:

  • Heinz - $4.79 at the mainstream grocery store

  • Hunt's - $3.29 at the mainstream grocery store

  • Burman's - $1.95 at Aldi

A 38 ounce bottle seems a bit arbitrary, but I'm sure some marketing guru determined that to be an ideal size for the typical refrigerator door.  But I digress...  Note the HUGE price gap for something as every day simple as ketchup.   Opting for the Burman's over Heinz saves you $2.84 and choosing the Aldi brand over Hunt's saves you $1.34.   That's savings you can apply elsewhere in your grocery budget or keep in your pocket.

Are you paying too much for ketchup?

I'm giving Burman's Tomato Ketchup from Aldi 5 out of 5 Bachelor on the Cheap stars.  It's got all the qualities in a ketchup that you're looking for, just like the name brands.  It's VERY worthy of a repeat buy and it's a staple in my fridge.

$pend Wisely My Friends...

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