Heinz has revealed that it’s launching a new condiment in honour of Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift’s rumoured romance.
The company took to Instagram on 26 September to announce “Seemingly Ranch,” – a combination of ketchup and ranch dressing. Heinz’s post came after Swift went viral for her food choice at Sunday’s Kansas City Chiefs game: A piece of chicken and ketchup, along with a side of what fans described as “seemingly ranch”.
The Instagram post included a photo of Heinz’s Kranch Ketchup & Ranch Sauce bottle, but with a label that read “Seemingly Ranch.” In the caption, Heinz made a quip about the “Anti-Hero” singer, referring to the different Eras of her albums, before introducing the condiment.
“It’s a new era for Heinz. Introducing Ketchup and Seemingly Ranch. Limited-edition bottles coming soon,” Heinz wrote in the caption.
In a statement to The Independent, a spokesperson for Heinz shared how the sauce was inspired by Swift’s appearance at Arrowhead Stadium on 24 September amid rumours that she’s dating the football tight end for the Kansas City Chiefs.
“In honour of #Traylor, Heinz (Arrowhead Stadium’s supplier of both Ketchup AND Ranch) is creating a ‘Taylor’s Version’ of its iconic Kranch sauce and releasing 100 bottles of Limited-Edition ‘Ketchup and Seemingly Ranch’ sauce,” the spokesperson said.
The company also noted that it was releasing 100 bottles because the number is a result of 13 – Swift’s lucky number – plus 87 – Kelce’s jersey number.
In the comments of Heinz’s Instagram post, fans have praised the company for launching the new product amid speculation about the “Lavender Haze” singer and Kelce. They also poked fun at how they’d buy “Seemingly Ranch” after seeing Swift’s meal at the football game.
“Bravo to the clients who approved this so quickly!” one wrote, while another added: “A plus to the marketing team.”
“I saw Taylor Swift eating ketchup and seemingly ranch, so I ate ketchup and seemingly ranch,” a third quipped.
On 24 September, Swift made headlines when she was spotted enthusiastically cheering on the Kansas City Chiefs tight end from the box seats at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. In addition to being seen chatting with Kelce’s mother, Donna, the Grammy-winner also seemed to immerse herself in the game, shouting “let’s f***ing go” in response to the NFL star’s third-quarter touchdown reception.
Following the game, the pair were captured leaving the stadium together - with Kelce wearing a blue and white splatter-paint denim suit. Eagle-eyed fans later noticed that his outfit paid homage to Swift’s upcoming album, 1989 (Taylor’s Version), which is due for re-release on 27 October.
Once Swift and Kelce left the crowd at Arrowhead Stadium in Kelce’s convertible, the athlete reportedly rented out a restaurant for a private, post-game celebration.
During an episode of his podcast, New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce, which aired on 27 September, Kelce addressed his viral outing with Swift, quipping that his “personal life hasn’t been so personal”. After he thanked Swift for coming to the game, calling the decision “pretty ballsy”, he went on to praise her kindness during the outing.
“I just thought it was awesome how everyone in the suite had nothing but great things to say about her. You know, the friends and family. She looked amazing, everybody was talking about her in great light,” he explained. “To see the slow-motion chest bumps, to see the high fives with mom, to see how, you know, Chiefs Kingdom was all excited she was there, that s*** was absolutely hysterical.”
Kelce also acknowledged that he wanted to “respect” both his and Swift’s personal lives, before adding that he is now going to avoid sharing details about their relationship.
“She’s not in the media as much, as I am doing this show every single week and having fun during the NFL season on other guys’ shows, like the McAfee show and any other show that I go on from here on out,” he said. I sure as hell enjoyed this weekend, so everything moving forward, I think me talking about sports and saying, ‘alright now’ will have to be kinda where I keep it.”
His comments came days after he first addressed the ongoing dating rumours about him and the “Bad Blood” singer during an episode of The Pat McAfee Show on 21 September.
“No one actually knows what’s going on, especially when you got Jason Kelce on live television telling people just both sides - he doesn’t know, it’s true, this and that,” he said, as he mocked his brother, Jason Kelce, for previous joking he “100 per cent” believed his younger sibling was dating Swift.
During the episode, he revealed that he had initially and subtly asked Swift to attend one of his football games. “I threw it out there, I threw the ball in her court,” he said. “I told her, you know, I’ve seen you rock the stage in Arrowhead [Stadium], you might have to come see me rock the stage in Arrowhead and see which one’s a little more lit. So, we’ll see what happens in the near future.”
The dating rumours stem back to July, when Kelce confessed that he tried - and failed - to give Swift his number by giving her a friendship bracelet at one of her Eras Tour concerts.
