In This Story
Volkswagen is more than just a car company: It’s also a food maker, famously manufacturing currywurst in-house to feed its workers. Less famously, Volkswagen actually also makes its own ketchup with which to top that currywurst, and now it’s bringing the condiment to the United States for free — except you almost certainly can’t have it.
The company brought over a limited amount of its Gewürz-brand ketchup, Volkswagen part number 00010 ZDK-259-101, to be made available for free through its online accessory shop. The offer was meant to celebrate Volkswagen’s 75th year selling cars in the States, but apparently the automaker underestimated how much of a following it had built up in that time — every available bottle of ketchup has already been claimed.
Some of you lucky enthusiasts, however, may still get a chance to try it out. Volkswagen is bringing its ketchup to ChainFest Los Angeles, a sort of food truck rodeo for chain restaurants that are already available in any shopping mall in the United States. While the event itself makes little sense to me, it’s the only remaining opportunity to test out what a Volkswagen-manufactured ketchup tastes like.
I’m so, so curious about this ketchup. I don’t even particularly like ketchup — I’m a “well-seasoned fries without need for extra condiments” girl — but the chance to test such a kitchen staple from a company that absolutely does not make kitchen staples is tempting. Ketchup is so easy to mess up, can a car company really get it right? If you’re out in LA for ChainFest, give the ketchup a try and report back. I want to know if it’s worth the hype, or whether it just tastes like a fancy Hunt’s.