The History of the Heinz 'EZ Squirt' Colorful Ketchups

🍅 Twenty-three years ago, Heinz ketchup went from iconic red to what-in-the-world green.

The inventive ketchup hit stores in the Y2K packaged in an ergonomically-shaped “EZ Squirt'' plastic bottle to contrast with Heinz’s traditional glass bottles. The Pittsburgh-based food company rolled out the new line with the “Blastin’ Green” flavor to coincide with the first “Shrek” movie.

The zany colors, packaging, and movie marketing collaboration was a clear appeal to millennium kids and their parents' wallets. In terms of sales, the rollout was, if I can pull out my primary school slang here, hella poppin.’ More than 25 million bottles were sold in the first three years. Heinz added the Funky Purple, Stellar Blue, Passion Pink, Awesome Orange, Totally Teal, and the not-at-all-sketchy Mystery Color in opaque bottles.

I remember these bottles at the supermarket. All I could see were the hella cool colors. But even though Heinz marketed it as the “same great Heinz taste,” I’m sure my mom was thinking, "Is this even tomato?" While this bottle does list tomato concentrate as the first ingredient, there’s been a lot of debate over whether it tasted like ketchup.

🍅 So let’s discuss: Do you remember these bottles? And, did it taste like the ketchup you grew up with? Email us your EZ Squirt memories.