When it comes to french fries, vive la difference

Published 9:00 pm Sunday, February 10, 2002

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH — Kids went wild for green ketchup and slurped up purple. Just as grown-ups are getting comfortable with those unexpected hues, Heinz has more surprises on the way.

Chocolate fries with your burger?

Beginning in May, H.J. Heinz Co. will ship a new line of Ore-Ida frozen potato products called "Funky Fries" featuring five new shapes, colors and flavors, all intended to give kids even more say over their parents’ grocery store lists.

The new products include french fries flavored with sour cream and chives; cinnamon-and-sugar "Cinna-Stiks"; and "Crunchy Rings," basically Tater Tots with a hole in the middle.

Then there’s "Kool Blue," a sky-blue, seasoned french fry, and brown, chocolatey "Cocoa Crispers," designed "for kids with a sweet tooth."

Pittsburgh-based Heinz started a year ago with 50-odd ideas (one that was rejected was Fruit Loops-flavored fries, says a company official) and pared them, through extensive research and testing, down to five.

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