Maritozzo is a classic Italian dessert that consists of a round-shaped bun opened in half and filled with cream. Its origin dates back to ancient Rome and its name comes from an alteration of the word husband. And, according to tradition, young people gave the sweet on the occasion of Valentine’s Day to their partners, decorating them with sugar hearts and hiding jewels or rings inside.
Now Heinz Italia has reinterpreted it to highlight its ketchup in the context of Valentine’s Day.

The brand has worked together with its in-house agency, The Kitchen, and has partnered with pastry chef Damiano Carrara to create a limited edition of the dessert that features sauce as the protagonist. As shared on social networks, this version is made up of the usual bun, but instead of cream, the filling has a cream made with a combination of ketchup, lime, raspberry gel and citrus pastry cream. Thus, Heinz Maritozzo replaces the “jewel” hidden in the center of the cake with a touch of the brand’s popular condiment.

Heinz describes it as a dessert that “surprises with the first bite and conquers with the second“.”For Valentine’s Day, love takes an unexpected and a little irrational form“, comments the company on social networks regarding the sweet designed. “Because irrational love is one that does not follow the rules and chooses what you do not expect. How to make Heinz ketchup, unmistakable and iconic, a surprise from a maritozzo. Because if the question is love and ketchup, the answer is always: #ihastobeyes“.

In this way, Heinz transforms tradition into something unexpected, continuing its global marketing strategy focused on innovating, surprising consumers and celebrating fans’ almost irrational passion for its ketchup. By replacing the usual dessert jewel with its product, Heinz is elevating its sauce as something precious, something premium and unmistakable. And by linking to such a traditional recipe, it positions the condiment as an iconic flavor.

That is why the brand has carried out the initiative together with Damiano Carrara, known for uniting tradition and innovation, with the intention of transforming a classic into something premium and contemporary, but without betraying its essence. “The maritozzo has a very strong symbolic value: it is a sweet that on the outside seems simple, everyday, but was born to hold a surprise.“, commented the pastry chef, according to Italian media. “I have devised a recipe that plays with aromas, textures and contrasts. It is a sweet that seems familiar, but then changes the rhythm: it surprises you, amuses you and in the end conquers you. That’s what makes Maritozzo Heinz a contemporary statement: not a ‘special’ sweet on the outside, but an experience that changes you on the inside, just like love.”.

The brand points out that the initiative arises from the idea that the most valuable things are not worn, but rather savored. “Irrational love often does not live in grand gestures, but in the simplest things: those that we do every day and that, precisely because of this, we run the risk of taking for granted.“said Daniela D’Aguanno, Marketing Director and Head of Flavor Elevation at Heinz Italia. “With Heinz Maritozzo we wanted to rediscover an Italian ritual linked to food and bring it to the present: a familiar sweet on the outside, a surprise on the inside. Because that is where magic can be born: in what seems normal and, suddenly, becomes memorable”.

The initiative also aims to strengthen Heinz’s link with Italy. “If in recent years Valentine’s Day has become a commercial cliché, in the past it has always been genuinely linked to love, taste and sharing. And for us these are keywords that distinguish the DNA of our brand and the way we communicate.“said Alessia Genocchio, Marketing Specialist at Kraft Heinz Italia, through LinkedIn. “That’s why we decided to create a campaign that celebrates Italianness through a forgotten ritual that we didn’t want to rewrite, but simply make more of our own, with a Heinz touch.”.

The Heinz Maritozzo will be available exclusively at the Damiano Carrara Atelier in the city of Lucca between February 14 and 27.

Heinz ice cream for dipping fries

In parallel, but without connection with Valentine’s Day, Heinz Chile has also opted to innovate and expand the presence of the brand’s ketchup in gastronomy. Following the habit, common among many consumers, of dipping French fries in cream ice cream, they have created a version that combines the two ingredients with their emblematic sauce, thus completing the experience.

“PIntroducing the new Heinz Ice Cream Dip:​ the first ketchup ice cream designed to dip French fries“, the brand commented on social networks. “Because if it’s potatoes, it has to be Heinz. Would you try it?”.
The initiative has been carried out together with the Poga ice cream shop, which makes gluten-free ice creams, without added sugar, without colorings and without preservatives, as indicated on its website.

Heinz is giving away the ice cream, along with a portion of fries, for a limited time at the Poga ice cream parlor located in the city of Alonso de Córdoba.