Life on a Roll, Part 2

As noted late last week in this space, the sandwich market has been booming as more people opt for sustenance separated by two slices of bread (or two slices of a similar substrate, or perhaps a single tortilla or flatbread…). Lunch is prime time for this original convenience food: toted from home or purchased at outlets like Subway (perennially nipping at the heels of McDonald’s, also home of many a ’wich), Quiznos (poised for further toasty expansion; see /news/2007/01/quiznos-appoints-greg-brenneman-president-and-chie.aspx), Arby’s (still raising the bar for the deli sandwich at the QSR level; the following recent bit nicely sums it up: http://www.dailypress.com/features/food/dp-6229sy0dec27,1,823113.story?coll=dp-features-taste), and the countless burger joints and delis—independent and chain—from coast to coast.

But sandwiches hit home throughout the day. At an event on Hispanic trends last year sponsored by Virginia Dare, company research revealed that nonassimilated or retro-acculturated (see http://juantornoe.blogs.com/hispanictrending/2005/02/retroacculturat.html) Hispanics often breakfast on some sort of standard, cold, lunch-type sandwich—and, of course, hot croissant, bagel and English muffin sandwiches are common American QSR breakfast staples. And, as last week’s post noted, recent research has shown that folks are more-frequently dining on the omnipresent ’wich at dinner (see http://www.foodproductdesign.com/blogs/doug/?m=art&a=71h4181918.html).

So, given the positive status quo of the sandwich, why should the market for mayonnaise, ketchup and mustard be stagnating, as recently reported by Packaged Facts? (see http://www.marketresearch.com/product/display.asp?productid=1209575&g=1) Well, for one—as the report notes—lack of product innovation has perhaps lulled consumers into spreadable doldrums. Although my fridge is home to shelf after shelf of different mustards (spicy brown, wasabi-tinged, chile-studded, etc., along with yellow for guests who request it or the occasional Chicago-style hot dog), ketchups (mainly the nicely spun products from Chef David Schy—I’m particularly fond of his Ketchipotle®; see http://www.ketchapeno.com/index.html; along with the Heinz product, my wife, Jen’s joie de vie—she discerns different ketchups like fine wine, and is as suitable a panelist for any sensory exploration into ketchup as I’ve ever met…), and mayos (mainly those with added wasabi to spice it up a bit), along with the occasional horseradish spread (try mixing spicy horseradish with mango-habanero chutney in equal parts to create an outstanding spread for tenderloin and brie sandwiches on crusty baguettes—a personal summertime picnic favorite of mine…), I doubt that array is par for the consumer course. In fact, from experience, I’ve found that most people only have regular ketchup, mayonnaise and yellow mustard to flavor up their culinary voyages between two slices.

As the sandwich continues to solidify its place in our uniquely American culinary repertoire, some parallel evolution of the triumvirate of flavor-accenting spreads could certainly do with some prodding—either by spinning these known condiments in desirable direction or perhaps thinking outside the ketchup bottle for a bit.

After all, before Henry J. Heinz boosted the tomato content of ketchup in the United States back in the early 20th century, ketchup could mean any number of different sauces that might include pickled fish, walnuts, mushrooms, and other ingredients, and not necessarily tomatoes. Now most of the world is unable to think of ketchup in any other way than its current, Heinz-inspired, thick, tomato-rich form.

Designing the next ketchup would be nothing less than divining the proverbial genie from the bottle—and that djinn has been sleeping for far too long.