Carragee Consulting

McDonald’s Drops Heinz over rival CEO

I didn’t know McDonald’s had already stopped serving Heinz in nearly all US markets.   I almost never eat at McDonalds and because apparently the only two markets in which McDonalds still uses Heinz are Minneapolis (where I live) and Pittsburg (where Heinz is located). 

I can just imagine the conjoint study you could do to see if the co-branding was worth it for McDonalds.  I would have thought Heinz carried tremendous brand value, but I guess not since “McDonald’s Fancy Ketchup” snuck right in and replaced it without much fanfair.  Its kind of humerous that outside of the US they were still using the iconic brand — I wonder if this is part of America’s declining taste standards or if its just seen (and valued) as more authentically American to use Heinz abroad. 

Sounds to me like the hiring of new CEO at Heinz, a former Burger King exec is just an excuse to finalize the transition rather than a dramatic strategic shift.