Sir Kensington's Ketchup Is Being Discontinued

Sir Kensington's ketchup is no more. 

On Feb. 21, the brand announced it's ending production on its artisanal condiment, which was free of high-fructose corn syrup, in a rather heartfelt post on Medium. 

"Ketchup was what started it all — it's what brought us together in college in the spring of 2008, to cook up some sauce and challenge a great American food monopoly," Scott Norton, the co-founder of the company, shared in the post. "The rollercoaster of our Sir Kensington's journey has had many highs and lows, but we didn't imagine the flagship product meeting its end in this way. We're saddened to think about how the ketchup will not endure, despite the tens of thousands of hours our team spent getting it out into the world, and the millions of customers who enjoyed it." 

The ketchup, made of 100% vine-ripened tomatoes, pioneered the idea that mainstream ketchup could lack unnecessary additives. Finding ketchup free of high-fructose corn syrup on grocery shelves when the company launched was uncommon. However, the soon-to-become popularized niche took off, and now dozens of brands offer ketchup free of added sweeteners.

With news of the announcement, hundreds of Sir Kensington's ketchup fans flocked to Instagram to ask the question on everyone's mind — why discontinue it?

Norton shared it came down to three things: Low margins, the sale of the company, and a refocus on its more popular product, its mayo. 

"Believe it or not, since we launched mayonnaise 10 years ago, it's grown to become 75% of Sir Kensington's business, with ketchup dropping to around 10%. It's a reminder that you may not yet have invented your defining product, and it might not be the one you were founded on," Norton shared. 

For those looking to snag the last bottles of ketchup, Norton added, "There's still the last of it on store shelves, and as of this posting, it's still on Amazon. So, get your last fix because once it's gone, it's gone."