How Heinz’s ‘Ketchup and Seemingly Ranch’ combo went from a Taylor Swift sighting to viral tweet to real product
Heinz’s “Kranch” is the new hot condiment—and it all started with chicken tenders, a viral tweet, and, strangely, iconic pop star Taylor Swift.
On Sunday, Swift was spotted cheering in a stadium suite at a Kansas City Chiefs game. She was joined by family members of Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, whom Swift is rumored to be dating. Needless to say, the evening’s events only spurred further talk of a potential romance. It also ignited speculation on another topic: How does Taylor Swift like to eat her chicken tenders?
Twitter fan account @tswfiterastour started the discussion when it shared a snapshot of Swift from the game on X (formerly Twitter), posed next to a plate of food. “Taylor Swift was eating a piece of chicken with ketchup and seemingly ranch!” the user wrote. Their observation has now been retweeted more than 7,000 times.
On Tuesday, Heinz quipped via Instagram that, of the two sauces in the image, “It was seemingly ranch, but obviously it had to be Heinz.” And on Wednesday, the company announced a special product in response to the photo.
“It’s a new Era for Heinz,” the brand wrote in an Instagram caption. “Introducing Ketchup and Seemingly Ranch. Limited-edition bottles coming soon.”
In a statement to CNN, Heinz confirmed that 100 bottles of the Swift-inspired condiment will be produced, though it’s unclear at this point how lucky winners will score a bottle. Although Heinz has been making its custom “Kranch” since 2019, these uniquely designed dipping sauces are likely to become collectibles.
Heinz isn’t the only recognizable name to get behind the “seemingly ranch” trend, either. The X account of the Empire State Building shared a photo of the famous New York City building in red and white on Wednesday—in honor of Swift, it was revealed on Twitter.
While this series of events might leave non-Swifties scratching their heads, the star’s visibility on social media is directly linked to her achievements of late. At the moment, Swift’s Eras Tour is on track to make history as the highest-grossing tour of all time. She’s even been credited with boosting local economies by creating high-volume surges on public transit. This latest launch is evidence of the endless possibilities for Swift’s commercial contributions—even if, admittedly, a limited-run “Kranch” wasn’t on our 2023 Bingo card.
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