A shortage of ketchup in the US, caused by changing consumption habits as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, has forced the company Kraft Heinz to increase its production by 25%.
As reported on Tuesday by local media USA Today, the company has had to add production lines that will allow the final number of ketchup envelopes to reach 12 billion in a year.
Kraft Heinz has responded to information revealed Monday by the New York-based Wall Street Journal, which pointed out that some of the largest fast food chains in the U.S., such as Long John Silver, of nearly 700 stores across the country, or Texas Roadhouse, of more than 630 restaurants, they are suffering from shortages.
Heinz, which dominates more than 70 percent of the condiment market in the U.S., has seen demand for ketchup envelopes skyrocket since the start of the pandemic, as all restaurants offering diners the sauce of bottled tomatoes on the tables of their establishments have had to rotate into small doses when moving on to offer only takeaway food or home delivery.
Steve Cornell, a representative of Kraft Heinz, explained that the company “has made strategic manufacturing investments at the start of the pandemic to keep pace with the demand for ketchup packages accelerated by delivery trends at home or takeaway “.
Added to this is that even customers who now decide to stay at restaurants to eat are also using the envelopes, as part of the recommendations of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
“Avoid using or sharing reusable items, such as menus, condiments, or any other food packaging,” says the CDC, which calls for the use of single-use or digital menus or single-serving condiments. “