Ketchup packets have become so rare that selling them online is apparently now a thing.
The packets, made scarce by pandemic-related demand, are now being sold on eBay and other platforms for $10 or more apiece. (A 31-ounce bottle of Heinz, by the way, goes for $3 and change at retail.) According to the Wall Street Journal, one guy who wanted $4 per packet warned, “There’s a shortage. Don’t try to lowball me, I know what I’ve got.”
I have two reactions:
1) Gratitude that I’m not the only weirdo pack rat out there who saves those things.
2) Greed. Here’s what I have in my pantry:
I’m too lazy to open an eBay account to sell my cache, but anyone interested can contact me through the magazine. Bidding starts at $50 per packet, but I’ll throw in the mustard free for anyone who buys four or more ketchups. (It pays to be reasonable.)
If only Andy Warhol were still with us.
Pan Demetrakakes is a Senior Editor for Food Processing and has been a business journalist since 1992, mostly covering various aspects of the food production and supply chain, including processing, packaging, distribution and retailing. Learn more about him or contact him
