Vanity Ketchup

Bruce Horovitz, in yesterday's USA Today, wrote about the new wave of personalized food packaging sweeping the industry.

Ketchup, mustard, M&M's, Wheaties, Jones Soda, more and more products are quite willing — for a nice chunk of your change — to put whatever you'd like on your bottles, boxes or food.

Here's the USA Today story.

In trend toward vanity food, it's getting personal

The age of the vanity ketchup bottle is upon us. If not all over us.

Ketchup kingpin H.J. Heinz says it will sell customized messages on Heinz ketchup bottle labels — for up to $6 per bottle.

Can personalized pickles be far behind? (Heinz is considering it.)

The giants of the $500 billion packaged food industry are leaping onto one of the hottest trends in the marketing world: mass customization.

For a premium price, folks already can buy M&Ms etched with their own names. And Wheaties boxes plastered with their own pictures. And Hershey (HSY) bars that beam personalized bar mitzvah kudos. And Jones Soda bottles with their dog's mug on the label.

New technologies make it affordable to personalize. And in an age when consumers are accustomed to personalizing websites and iPods, why not food?

"These companies are co-branding their products with the thing that matters most: you," says Tracey Riese, a brand consultant. "They don't give up the brand, but they get their most loyal customers to identify it with themselves."

Customers prompted Heinz to make the move. "Consumers want products designed for themselves," says Wendy Joyce, senior brand manager. "This gives them a personal connection with the brand."

Heinz will screen and reject any off-color requests, Joyce says. The customized bottles can be ordered at www.myheinz.com.

Others in the vanity fray:

• Vanity chocolate • Last year, Master Foods USA, a unit of Mars, began selling customized M&M's with 8-character messages people create on any of 22 colors.

But they don't come cheap. Minimum orders are four, 8-ounce bags for $45 plus $12.95 shipping. They're especially popular for weddings and bar mitzvahs.

Within a few years, the division will sell $100 million annually, says Jim Cass, general manager of My M&Ms (mymms.com). Beginning next month, he says, the company will imprint corporate logos.

Also, Hershey Gifts, a division of Hershey, sells customized, 5-pound chocolate bars for $50.

• Vanity cereal • General Mills has seen double-digit growth this year of its vanity Wheaties boxes, says Greg Zimprich, a spokesman.

The boxes, which sell for $29.95, can be personalized with photos and words. They're sold (sans cereal) inside acrylic cases.

For George H.W. Bush's 80th birthday, Barbara Bush got him one with a photo of him skydiving.

• Vanity soft drinks • Many credit Jones Soda with starting the trend in 1998, when it began selling "My Jones" personalized drink bottles.

Folks submit photos and script for personalized labels. Minimum order: $34.95 for 12 bottles.

Sales of personalized bottles have grown 40% annually, says Peter van Stolk, CEO of Jones Soda. "People never throw away these bottles," he says. "Our brand becomes a positive framework within the walls of their home."

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Because, as KC & The Sunshine Company sang, back in the day, "That's the way I like it."