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Key Takeaways
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A handful of food vendors are now deploying Heinz Remix, one of the first machines that allows diners to customize condiments.
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The machine can create up to 200 sauces by pulling from four bases and four flavor enhancers.
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The company wants to see how Heinz Remix is received at about 15 locations before moving forward with a larger rollout.
The humble fast-food condiment may soon take on a saucier role.
Long pushed to the periphery of burger joints, sauces—often found in bulky tubs with pump handles or boxes of packets stashed behind the check-out counter—may soon come to a futuristic dispenser near you.
A handful of food vendors are now deploying Heinz Remix, one of the first machines that allows diners to customize condiments with 200 distinct blends of sauce.
The Heinz Remix will soon be in 15 locations, including some BurgerFi restaurants in Florida and the University of Florida’s Jacksonville Jaguars’ stadium, according to Kraft Heinz Foods (KHC). The company wants to test how the machines perform at these outposts before embarking on a larger commercial rollout, said Zach Vineyard, a senior brand manager at the company.
The dispenser takes a cue from Coca-Cola's (KO) Freestyle machine, which lets people mix beverages from a variety of sodas and juices. In the case of the condiments, customers choose from four bases—BBQ, ketchup, mayo and ranch—on a digital screen, infuse the sauce with one or two flavor enhancers; and place a plastic container in the belly of the machine.
The Heinz Remix whirs, flashes a red light and releases a stream of sauces into the container as it spins in circles. The movement is meant to ensure all flavors are evenly distributed.
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A close-up of the Heinz Remix machine in action.The tool limits the intensity of second mix-ins so sauces aren’t drowned out by the concentrated flavor enhancers, Vineyard said. Kraft Heinz Foods stocked the machine with jalapeño, buffalo, smoky chipotle and roasted garlic flavorings at a retail expo this week, but additional mix-ins are in the works, he said.
“This will give you the full customization of the sauce you want,” said Vineyard. “If you want just ketchup, that’s great—totally understand that. If you want to spice up your ketchup a little bit, it gives you the opportunity to do so.”
Beyond appealing to adventurous eaters, the machines can reduce waste and minimize mess for restaurants, Vineyard said. The Remix can also collect data on consumer preferences and may eventually be capable of identifying local favorites and offering them to diners, he said.
“We do have that pipeline dream to say: 'Hey, let’s have the machine be smart,'” Vineyard said. “That is further down the road."
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