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What is the Heinz Hot Dog Pact?

We all know how hotdogs come in packs of ten, and the buns come in packages of 8. The big question on everyone’s mind is, “why must they be uneven?” Heinz, the 150-year-old condiment company, finally decided to put an end to everyone’s suffering. But how?

Heinz started a petition to encourage hot dog and hot dog bun companies to consider answering the frustrating packaging mismatch. We all deserve an equal hot dog-to-bread ratio!

Is There A Reason Hot Dogs and Buns Don’t Come in Equal Packaging?

The uneven dog-to-bun packaging ratio is weird, but according to the National Hot Dog Sausage Council or NHDSC, there is actually a valid reason for this mismatch.

According to the NHDSC, buns are not in 10-packs because of the way they are baked.

Sandwich rolls, or hot dog buns, most often come eight to the pack because the buns are baked in clusters of four in pans designed to hold eight rolls. While baking pans now come in configurations that allow baking 10 and even 12 at a time, the eight-roll pan remains the most popular.

NHDSC

Though this may seem like a fixable issue, the increased discussion of the problem led to Heinz’s petition of the hot dog-to-bun packaging balance. (Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

The Heinz Hot Dog Pact Challenge

With all the technological advancements and innovations that started in the United States, they should be capable of selling equal quantities of hotdogs and hotdog buns in a grocery store, right? But no, Americans have been eating hot dogs for more than a century and have been living with the fact that buns came in eight packs while the hot dogs came in ten.

Heinz recently spoke out about this inconvenience challenging hot dog and bun companies to sort this packaging nightmare.

We’ve seen our fans through social media express their outrage about the bun-to-hot-dog ratio issue for years, and we know there must be a better way. As the iconic condiment that has been making hot dogs complete for over 150 years, we saw an opportunity to champion this issue on behalf of hot dog lovers across North America.

Daniel Gotlib, Heinz Associate Director of Brand Building and Innovation

As soon as Heinz launched the petition Change.org, more than 4,000 users signed it. As of today, the petition holds 32,755 signatures. To sign the petition, check this link. (Source: Courier Times)

How Does The Packaging Mismatch Affect Consumers?

Ricky Pyrell, the Owner of Cheese Dawgs in Lower South Hampton, serves Dietz & Watson hot dogs on New England-style rolls. The buns come in eight packs, which rarely matches the number of customers or hotdogs on the grill.

We used to get them in bags of 16 rolls at a time. Now, they’re down to eight packs of rolls. You’re wasting all this time opening all these bags.

Ricky Pyrell, Cheese Dawgs

If you do the math, in order to even out the ratio of buns to hot dogs, you would need to buy five packs of buns and four packs of hot dogs. Unless you’re planning a party for 40 people, this seems like are ridiculous idea. (Source: Courier Times)

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