Bad Design #30 — not so squeezy
Masterfoods has the great “squeeze-on” sauce dispenses. Heinz does not. Heinz continues to use the traditional, and pain in the bum, sachets.
The “squeeze-on” dispenses are miles above in terms of usability, especially in the situations these sauces are used, ie. standing, walking, driving, at a sporting event, etc. On this particular day I was at an AFL match trying to sauce my hotdog while it sat on my lap.
Mustard first, one-handed, squeeze, squirt, done.
Then the tomato sauce, hmm…put everything else down, with two hands try to rip the sachet just enough to allow sauce out, but not too much so as not to rip it off completely, and try to control my strength so I don’t accidentally squeeze the sachet and have sauce shoot out onto the person sitting in front of me. Phew! that was tricky, and scary, it could have gone anywhere.
The sachet is a bad design, we can all agree on that. But what can Heinz do about it?
They may not be losing market share, thanks to their loved recipe, but they do get a thumbs down by users, if only mentally. And if customer satisfaction is your number one priority, then you’d want to be doing something about it, because right at that moment, right when the user is tearing the sachet open…we hate you Heinz.
Solution 1: design a better sachet, hahaha easier said than done, but not impossible.
Solution 2: tuck your tail between your legs and go ask Masterfoods for a licencing deal….admit defeat and get on with it.
CitizenRod is an entrepreneur, industrial designer, artist, and thinker. Follow his rants at citizenrod.com, his artwork at rodrigoantoniomunoz.com, and his startup at Maate.it.
