Funky French Fries

Kids went wild for green ketchup and slurped up purple. Just as grown-ups are getting comfortable with those unexpected hues, Heinz has more surprises on the way.

Chocolate fries with your burger?

Beginning in May, H.J. Heinz Co. will ship a new line of Ore-Ida frozen potato products called "Funky Fries" featuring five new shapes, colors and flavors, all intended to give kids even more say over their parents' grocery store lists.

The new products include french fries flavored with sour cream and chives, cinnamon-and-sugar "Cinna-Stiks," and "Crunchy Rings" - basically Tater Tots with a hole in the middle.

Then there's "Kool Blue," a sky blue, seasoned french fry, and brown, chocolatey "Cocoa Crispers," designed "for kids with a sweet tooth."

It all started with normal market research, said John Carroll, managing director of North American potatoes and snacks for Heinz' frozen food division.

"We asked the kids what would make them want to eat more French fries," he said.

Pittsburgh-based Heinz started a year ago with 50-odd ideas (one that was rejected was Fruit Loops-flavored fries, says Carroll) and pared them, through extensive research and testing, down to five.

If there were any doubts about the direction Heinz was taking before purple and green ketchup, they're gone now, said Leonard Teitelbaum, an analyst with Merrill Lynch.

Heinz already dominates the frozen potato product market, getting 54 cents for every dollar in sales last year, Teitelbaum said.

"If you know your target market and can make the product fun and interesting, your chances of success at least initially are pretty good," he said. "Heinz proved it once. They should be able to prove it again."

By Todd Spangler
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