Have a souper Christmas with Heinz

I was doing so well last year, wasn't I? 20 blogposts in 2020 (even if the last few were a bit rushed in the dying days and hours). This year: less success. Or rather, no success. A downright failure really. I have had various posts half-written for months, but somehow I just haven't got round to finishing them. I am determined to pull my finger out and do so before the end of the year though, and get a few unfinished posts up, and maybe a few additional shorter ones too. But seeing as it's 1st December, we might as well cut to the chase and talk Christmas right away.

It's the time of year when food brands bring out their festive editions in an attempt to boost sales, whether that be simply a change in packaging to include a snowman or reindeer, the addition of some Christmassy flavours or colours to an existing product, or something entirely new. Heinz have this year managed to create a social media sensation by releasing an incredibly limited edition new product to its Big Soup range: Christmas Dinner. In soup form.

Just 500 tins of the "full-on festive treat" were produced, which are "packed full of big chunks of all your festive feasting favourites: turkey, stuffing, chunky potatoes, brussels sprouts, and even pigs in blankets - for no-nonsense seasonal satisfaction."

Selling only via their website at £1.50 a tin, all 500 sold out seemingly within minutes - I was way too slow to nab one to try. I'm not sure if even Heinz were expecting them to go that quickly. You can now register interest on their website for when they release more, or try winning one in the various competitions they are running. I was pleased to see that all the proceeds from the sales are being donated to soup kitchens, which need help more than ever at this time of year, but it's a shame that such organisations are unlikely to see even an additional penny from the tins that people are now trying to flog on eBay - I've seen some going for £50 or more, which is fairly ridiculous.

Would it even be worth the recommended retail price though? The official photos from Heinz manage to make the various chunks in a brown soupy gravy look vaguely appetising, but I fear the reality might be somewhat less so. Indeed, a taste test of various Christmas dinner-flavoured foods in The Guardian (sandwiches, crisps, a pasty, and even pizza and Chinese dumplings), rating each out of 5, gave the  soup -50 points, pronouncing that "it looks like fresh sewage. It smells bad. I can't accurately describe the mouthfeel because I have never had to swallow contraband human organs to sell on the black market. It tastes like punishment. Heinz, you invented the precise opposite of Christmas."

Harsh words perhaps, but I suspect that reviews such as that will only fuel demand for the tins. Heinz have said they may release more next year if it proves a hit, and while it might not be a taste sensation, the amount of interest online for the product would seem to suggest a social media success for Heinz, which is what all companies are aiming for these days. 

Of course, if I am able to get my hands on a tin at a reasonable price, I will give it a go and report back. As for Heinz's other off-the-wall Christmas products though, I'm not so sure. At least with a Christmas dinner soup you know vaguely what you're going to get, but their limited edition Chocolate Orange Mayonnaise? Sounds like a combination of two things that, while great separately, should never meet on the same plate. I actually thought this was a joke at first. Maybe the reviews will say it is delicious, but from me it's not a ho-ho-ho, but a no, no, no.