Hellmann’s Tomato Ketchup Sweetened only with Honey testers feedback thread NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

This thread is for the MNers who are trying this new ketchup with their families - read on to find out what they think!

Hellmann’s say “Hellmann’s Ketchup sweetened only with Honey. An all-natural recipe offering Mum’s more of the ingredients they want, and less of the ingredients they don’t – 36% more tomatoes, and 30% less sugar (vs. market leader standard tomato ketchup)”

Testers, please share your thoughts on the questions below and feel free to also tweet your comments and photos to @HellmannsUK (include @mumsnetinsight!)

What did you think overall about the product?
What appealed to you about trying it? - was it the all natural recipe, only being sweetened by honey, 36% more tomatoes + 30% less sugar (vs. market leader)
How did it taste? What did other members of your family think about the taste?
Are you likely to buy it again? And why?
And are you likely to recommend it to someone else - if it came up in conversation - and why?

Everyone who takes part and who shares feedback on the thread and by completing the survey will be entered into a prize draw where one tester will win a £300 supermarket voucher for the store of their choice.

Thanks and good luck!
MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs Apply

What did you think overall about the product?

I liked the packaging and the idea of a healthier ketchup.

What appealed to you about trying it? - was it the all natural recipe, only being sweetened by honey, 36% more tomatoes + 30% less sugar (vs. market leader)

The opportunity to still enjoy ketchup while trying to be healthy

How did it taste? What did other members of your family think about the taste?

I usually always buy the same brand of ketchup so it took a little while to adjust.

Are you likely to buy it again? And why?

No as the children were not keen on the taste.

And are you likely to recommend it to someone else - if it came up in conversation - and why?

I would recommend it if someone was asking me tips on bring healthier, but I wouldn't recommend it on the taste sorry.

What did you think overall about the product?

Very tasty. Good thick texture and appealing smell - the smell has to be right with ketchup for me!

What appealed to you about trying it? - was it the all natural recipe, only being sweetened by honey, 36% more tomatoes + 30% less sugar (vs. market leader)

Other than being free, the fact that it didn't appear to be too messed about with did appeal.

How did it taste? What did other members of your family think about the taste?

Tastes good - nice balance of sharp and sweet with quite a concentrated tomatoey flavour. Went down very well with proper chip shop fish and chips, last night. DS2, who is the clincher here (severe SN), definitely approves and dwasn't upset that it replaced his usual ketchup.

Are you likely to buy it again? And why?

Probably will. I've actually not been enjoying the market leader much recently, if truth be known.

And are you likely to recommend it to someone else - if it came up in conversation - and why?

If someone asked if it was nice, I'd say yes!

What did you think about the overall product?
The whole family really liked it. So much in fact this will probably be our new regular sauce.

What appealed to you about it?
Definitely the extra tomatoes. It's a sauce that actually tastes of tomatoes. I do like the honey idea as well.

How did it taste? What did other family members think?
You can really taste the tomatoes. It tastes less synthetic than other sauces. It was enjoyed by myself, my husband and two children. We've used it on chips and a BBQ.

Are you likely to buy it again and why?
Yes. I think this will become a staple item on our shopping list. I am happy because it seems to be a more natural product than others. Also with less sugar which appeals to me as my boys go through a lot of tomato sauce!

Are you likely to recommend it and why?
Yes. Mainly because it has a nice taste and has less sugar.

Thank you for the sauce!

What did you think overall about the product?

I really liked it, I thought the packaging was great, as well as the label, and I liked the taste.

What appealed to you about trying it?

Less sugar. It still seems crazy that ketchup has so much sugar in it.

How did it taste? What did other members of your family think about the taste?

I loved it, my husband liked it too and couldn't tell the difference, but my kids instantly knew it wasn't their usual ketchup from the bottle, and therefore did not like it, even when they tried it. I did a blind test on one of them, and they could taste it wasn't the same!

Are you likely to buy it again? And why?
Yes, because it tasted good and i'd feel less guilty!

And are you likely to recommend it to someone else - if it came up in conversation - and why?
Yes! We're all trying to cut back on sugar, and I think they'd really appreciate my recommendation here!

Liked it - the children may take a bit of convincing but they're uber fussy. Thought it was tangy (almost more chutney like in flavour), tasted more natural and a rich colour that was appealing.

I like that it is made with honey (I'm a big fan!), that it's made with more tomatoes and is generally more natural.

Tangy and I thought sharper than Heinz (not sweeter) TBQH. Grown-ups won over children going to require time....

Yes because it's more natural, seems competitively priced and I think it's got a great depth of flavour that lends itself to being added to cooking - and think it will make a very nice rose marie sauce (with sister mayo) for a prawn cocktail (a family favourite).

I would because it's more natural and flavoursome - and it's always good to try new products!

We all thought this product had a lovely taste compared with the market leader and other brands. It tastes like a higher quality product - not sure whether it's the honey or more tomatoes.

The only thing I would change is the packaging - I'd prefer a bottle with a recyclable lid.

I would buy it again if it wasn't too expensive. I don't tend to recommend products to friends but I'd be happy to if it came up in conversation.

The main thing that appealed to me was the overall reduction in sugar, ds eats his weight in ketchup which I don't mind too much as I know that the cooked tomato in it is good for you, but was worried a little by the sugar content. Didn't know if he or fussy dh would accept this version, but they both happily ate it. Ds said it takes good and sweet. Result! Would definitely buy if it was on offer, and will recommend to others trying to cut down on sugar.

I won't be buying this because I'm vegan.

Hi

What did you think overall about the product?

It was OK but seems a bit of a sales gimmick, bottle design very good

What appealed to you about trying it? - was it the all natural recipe, only being sweetened by honey, 36% more tomatoes + 30% less sugar (vs. market leader)- was intrigued to see what it would taste like and see if my children would eat it as they don't !like the sweetness of ketchup.

How did it taste? What did other members of your family think about the taste? It tasted v similar to Hellman's normal ketchup but left a tangy after taste, unfortunately my children just said yuck eldest said was too sweet

Are you likely to buy it again? And why? Unless it was on offer no due to after taste

And are you likely to recommend it to someone else - if it came up in conversation - and why? If someone was looking for lower sugar version then yes.

What did you think overall about the product? Had a really nice taste to it and not as sweet as I thought it would be.
What appealed to you about trying it? - was it the all natural recipe, only being sweetened by honey, 36% more tomatoes + 30% less sugar (vs. market leader), definitely how it was sweetened.
How did it taste? really nice. Preferred it to our regular ketchup. What did other members of your family think about the taste? DH lived it. He loves ketchup ad does dd.
Are you likely to buy it again? And why? Yes. Taste was good and I like how it was sweetened.
And are you likely to recommend it to someone else - if it came up in conversation - and why? Yes. Mainly for the really nice taste.

What did you think overall about the product?
First impressions- bottle looks very attractive. Colour/ texture of sauce is rich and appealing. Very rich tasting.
What appealed to you about trying it? - was it the all natural recipe, only being sweetened by honey, 36% more tomatoes + 30% less sugar (vs. market leader)
Reduced sugar and natural recipe is the main appeal but I also like the idea of honey and extra tomatoes
How did it taste? What did other members of your family think about the taste? Good rich taste but a little sweet was the consensus
Are you likely to buy it again? And why?
I would buy it for a BBQ
And are you likely to recommend it to someone else - if it came up in conversation - and why? Yes as it is an interesting product idea

What did you think overall about the product?

We thought it was great. It tasted much, much better when it had been refrigerated.

What appealed to you about to you about trying it?

Substituting sugar with honey seemed really appealing. It is something different to try and appeals as a more healthy option.

How did it taste?

When it initially arrived we tried a bit straight away and weren't that keen. But since it's been refrigerated it tastes delicious. Much more tomatoey (if that's a word) in flavour than our usual brand. It had a nice tang to it as well. We thought it was delicious!

Are you likely to buy it again? And why?

Yes I'd buy it again. Really tasty and the increase in tomato content is noticeable by comparison to our usual brand. Nice to have honey rather than so much sugar.

Are you likely to recommend it to someone else - if it came up in conversation- and why?

I would definitely recommend it, I'm very impressed. I would say to them to refrigerate it before using because the taste is so much better.

Overall - a very nice tasting product. Liked the packaging.

What appealed to you about trying it - the honey instead of sugar and high tomato content. I find ketchup quite sickly sweet in general so was interested to see if this was different.

Taste - very pleasant and tangy.

What did other family members think - DH liked it but prefers German curry ketchup. He got quite enthused by this testing and did some tests against Heinz. He could tell the difference!

Buy again? - probably would because I preferred it to our usual.

Recommend it? - Yes as it's a very different taste and I know a few people that might prefer it.

What did you think overall about the product?

We liked it.

What appealed to you about trying it? - was it the all natural recipe, only being sweetened by honey, 36% more tomatoes + 30% less sugar (vs. market leader)

My children are both tomato sauce fiends. Given a choice they would have it on everything. I have to limit the amount they have and I'm worried about the amount of sugar that they're consuming. I usually buy the Heinz reduced sugar and salt ketchup as it doesn't have an added sweeteners but this product appealed because of the increased tomatoes and all natural recipe.

How did it taste? What did other members of your family think about the taste?

We liked the taste. Both children said it was good. It had a tangy taste slightly reminiscent of the homemade ketchup that I've made in the past. It's very sweet, but not as vinegary as some other ketchups.

Are you likely to buy it again? And why?

Yes, I would. Assuming it's not hugely more expensive than regular ketchup.

And are you likely to recommend it to someone else - if it came up in conversation - and why?

Yes, I would. If it came up. I know it's not a remotely healthy food, but the increased amount of tomatoes if appealing to me.
Thanks for letting us try it.

What did you think overall about the product?
Ok but sweeter than I was expecting

What appealed to you about trying it? - was it the all natural recipe, only being sweetened by honey, 36% more tomatoes + 30% less sugar (vs. market leader)
More tomatoes, less sugar

How did it taste?
It was ok, a bit too sweet compared with our usual. It was nice with our BBQ but didn't like it at all with fish & chips.

What did other members of your family think about the taste?
DS1 didn't like it, DH & I both thought it was a bit too sweet, DS2 seemed to like it but to be fair there is little he doesn't like atm.

Are you likely to buy it again? And why?
No prefer our usual brand

And are you likely to recommend it to someone else - if it came up in conversation - and why? Unlikely to come up in conversation but I might say we tried it

We liked the overall product.

We wanted to test it because more tomatoes and less sugar sounded appealing. One of my children would have tomato sauce on everything so anything that is slightly healthier is a bonus.

Our family, bar one, enjoyed the taste. It's a slightly different consistency to our usual brand but not in a bad way. It tasted more of tomatoes but I think a little more acidic. It was very tasty with cheese on toast.

I would buy it again if it compared favourably in price to our usual brand.

I would recommend it to my friends and family to try as it's always good to try something new.

What did you think overall about the product?

I thought it was great as it's healthier than normal ketchup

What appealed to you about trying it?

The fact is has less sugar and more tomatoes making it healthier

How did it taste? What did other members of your family think about the taste?

I'm not a big ketchup fan but I thought it tasted great. My 10 year old hated it but my 14 year old preferred it!

Are you likely to buy it again? And why?

Yes - For me & my daughter!

And are you likely to recommend it to someone else - if it came up in conversation - and why?

Yes I would because it is healthier due to having less sugar & a more natural recipe

What did you think overall about the product?
tasted okay, but prefer Heinz

What appealed to you about trying it?
honey, lower in sugar, chance to try something new (because usually family insist on sticking to Heinz)

How did it taste?
I thought the taste was okay. I didn't specifically notice it tasting less sweet, but thought the overall flavour was not as strong (compared to Heinz) and I needed to use more of it to get the same amount of flavour in a sausage sandwich.

What did other members of your family think about the taste?
My older daughter says it tasted less tomatoey than Heinz.
I think it has a less bright red colour compared to Heinz (less colouring?) so perhaps that contributed to the impression of it having less flavour/being less tomatoey.
My younger daughter unfortunately refused to try it at all and said she didn't want to have anything with honey in. She is a fussy eater generally and not keen on trying new things, but normally loves ketchup so I was surprised that she was so resistant to trying this.

Are you likely to buy it again? And why?
Unlikely, because of my younger daughter refusing it and my older daughter and I prefer the Heinz.

And are you likely to recommend it to someone else - if it came up in conversation - and why?
I might mention it in a conversation about reducing sugar or similar, but wouldn't specifically recommend it

Overall I wanted to try it to see what the honey was like.

I'm afraid my son did not like it (age 5) and daughter (2) wasn't too keen either. At first I found it a bit too vinegar tasting but after a few more tries I thought maybe this was more of a tang taste like chutney.

I might buy it again but it's tricky if the children won't eat it. I'm going to blind taste test them again though & see! I will report back 😉

I wouldn't recommend or discourage friends buying this product. I think it is a slightly acquired taste so would say that.

What did you think overall about the product?
We liked it! Tangy and not overly sweet. A ketchup with less sugar is a winner in my book.

What appealed to you about trying it?
I'd heard that the more tomatoes, the healthier the ketchup, and we get through bucket loads!

How did it taste?
Nicer than I'd expected as I'm not a lover of honey. Tangy and not too sweet.

What did other members of your family think about the taste?
They loved it, especially the kids.

Are you likely to buy it again? And why?
Yes, as well as Heinz though, rather than instead of. I imagine it'll go down well at a barbecue.

And are you likely to recommend it to others?
Definitely, as a healthier option than ketchup in terms of less refined sugar.

What did you think overall about the product?

Much better than I expected as I don't like honey. I'm glad I was given the opportunity to test this product as I would never have bought it otherwise.

What appealed to you about trying it?

I love ketchup but don't like the fact that it's generally quite high in sugar and a bit unhealthy. I really liked the fact that this was made from natural ingredients and has 30% less sugar.

How did it taste? What did other members of your family think about the taste?

It tasted very very sweet - too sweet for our liking. Maybe it will grow on us and it will just take a bit of getting used to!

Are you likely to buy it again? And why?

I'm not sure - it depends whether we get used to the sweet taste. If it tasted less sweet I would definitely buy again due to the 30% less sugar, all natural ingredients and more tomatoes. The only thing that puts me off at the moment is the taste.

And are you likely to recommend it to someone else?

Yes, if they were looking for a more natural ketchup alternative, liked sweet things and the price was right.

Thanks for the opportunity to try :)

What did you think overall about the product?
I liked it - I usually buy supermarket own brand ketchup as I find Heinz a bit thin. This was more like my usual ketchup, rich and thick.

What appealed to you about trying it? - was it the all natural recipe, only being sweetened by honey, 36% more tomatoes + 30% less sugar (vs. market leader)
I like honey and thought it would add an interesting flavour. Couldn't taste the honey really, but I did like the tangy flavour.

How did it taste?
Rich, tomatoey, sweet and tangy.

What did other members of your family think about the taste?

DS (12) "Hey, that's pretty guuuuud!"

DD (10) "I like it, I think it's really tasty and I'm a ketchup aficionado so I should know"

DP (38, but mental age about 8!) "it's a bit honey-y and tomatoey and ketchup-y"
me: "So do you like it?!"
Him: "no I like Heinz"
me: "but we don't buy Heinz, we have Tesco ketchup"
him: "oh"

Are you likely to buy it again?
If it was on offer I'd buy it.

And why?
I like it, but most of my shopping is cost based so if it is significantly more than own brand I won't buy it. However, the reduced sugar might sway it if there's not much price difference.

And are you likely to recommend it to someone else - if it came up in conversation - and why?
Yes I'd recommend it to anyone looking for naturally sweetened products.

How did it taste?
We loved the taste of the ketchup. The tomato taste was a lot richer than our usual ketchup.

What did other members of your family think about the taste?
My children (3 & 5) loved it and myself and my husband also enjoyed it.

Are you likely to buy it again? And why?
Yes. We all liked the taste of the ketchup. For us, the big advantage is the natural ingredients and the 30% less sugar. We're trying to eat better as a family and this is one product we would like to switch to.

And are you likely to recommend it to someone else - if it came up in conversation - and why?
Yes. I think the flavour is better than our usual brand but also the benefits of it being better for you are a massive plus.

Well done Hellmans - we're converts!

What did you think of overall about the product?
It had a good fresh taste and a deeper rich red colour to it
What appealed to you about trying it?
We are trying to cut out those hidden sugars in our families diet so this seemed to fit the bill. When I make my bread for example I add honey instead of sugar, so I liked the idea of still having the sweetness but with less sugar
How did it taste?
We had a " blind"taste test with chips using our regular ketchup and this one. My daughter said it wasn't as sweet as (a leading brand) our regular. I thought that it definitely tasted more tomatoey (it has tomato puree in which gives it a more intense flavour and a more homemade taste. I thought it might be a bit tart but it is well blended, (although if you have a really sweet tooth you might notice the difference) and it is darker in colour with more texture to it (not as smooth). My 8 year old is our ketchup expert and he liked it with his chips, which I was pleased about. Overall we all liked it.
Are you likely to buy it again?
I would definitely buy this again, it has a good rich flavour and I am keen to reduce our overall sugar intake. It is more expensive than other brands so I would look out for when it is on offer. If you are looking for ways to cut out sugar this would be a useful addition and I think it would be handy to add to sauces/ stews/ bolognaise when you want a little tomato and sweetness without having to add a spoon of sugar.
Would you recommend it?
Yes I would recommend it, I have other Hellman's products and it is as good quality as their other products

What did you think overall about the product?

I really liked the bottle, but found the ketchup to have a bit of a strange sweet taste.

What appealed to you about trying it? - was it the all natural recipe, only being sweetened by honey, 36% more tomatoes + 30% less sugar (vs. market leader).

I have been buying Heinz reduced sugar and salt which we really like. While that has less sugar per 100g than the Hellmanns one, it does contain refined sugar, that the Hellmanns doesn't. I was interested to see which we would prefer.

How did it taste? What did other members of your family think about the taste?

My husband and I both thought it tasted too sweet, and perhaps with too much cinnamon. My son preferred it to the Heinz.

Are you likely to buy it again? And why?

Probably not, we preferred the Heinz which also has less salt so we'll stick with that.

And are you likely to recommend it to someone else - if it came up in conversation - and why?

I would recommend people to try it as it's a great idea, it just wasn't to our taste.