If you’ve ever cursed the gods for making ketchup packets both awkward and filled with too little ketchup, Heinz has heard your cry. They’ve started to roll out to a broader audience the “dip and squeeze” ketchup packets that have three times more ketchup and serves as both a dipping tray and a squeeze packet. I tried one this weekend.

WSJ reports you’ll start to see the packets more broadly at Wendy’s next year, but they’ve been at Chick-fil-A’s, Smashburgers and Dairy Queens already for a while. McDonald’s and Burger King have started testing them but offered no comment on their findings.

I encountered one of these new packets while eating at Chick-fil-A this weekend. While I’m no ergonomics expert, in my personal opinion that is my own and not Consumerist’s, I found both ends easier to remove than tearing the traditional foil packet. I could squeeze and dip with adroitness.

I also enjoyed that I didn’t have to prepare a pile of ketchup from multiple packets on a piece of paper in order to have a satisfactory dipping experience. I only needed one packet and all my ketchup needs were taken care of. There was enough to both smear on the chicken and dip my hashbrowns in.

The question is whether restaurants will adopt these when they’re several times more expensive than a normal packet. Heinz believes their regular packets are so difficult to open that people actually eat fewer fries because of it. In a recessionary environment they’ll have to work hard to convince restaurants that investing in ease of use results in higher sales.

Old Ketchup Packet Heads for Trash [WSJ]

Want more consumer news? Visit our parent organization, Consumer Reports, for the latest on scams, recalls, and other consumer issues.