Whataburger Taking Its Condiments to Retail

Whataburger Taking Its Condiments to Retail

(Original article posted Burgerbusiness.com and can be located here)

Whataburger is venturing into retail sales for the first time, announcing that its signature condiments—Fancy Ketchup, Spicy Ketchup and Original Mustard—will be sold exclusively at H-E-B stores in Texas and Mexico this summer.

The San Antonio-based chain’s Original Mustard, which dates to its founding in 1950, will be sold in 16-oz. containers with a label reading, “The True Taste of a Whataburger.” The Fancy Ketchup and Spicy Ketchup will be in 20-oz. containers, labeled “Bottled by Popular Demand” and  “Wake Up You Taste Buds” respectively. The Spicy Ketchup, introduced as an LTO in January 2012, was recently brought back and now will be a permanent part of the Whataburger menu.

Additionally, H-E-B will offer a newly created product called Whatafries, billed as “a potato chip version of the french fry,” made from real potatoes and packaged in a 7.4-ounce bag.

Whataburger is the latest of several burger operations that have moved signature products to retail. Midvale, Utah-based Arctic Circle has sold its bottled Fry Sauce for decades. Cincinnati-based Frisch’s Big Boy sells its Tartar Sauce; White Castle hamburgers are available in retail freezers. Umami sells its bottled house ketchup, “Master Sauce” and other condiments, McDonald’s even licensed a retail mayonnaise brand briefly in Europe.