When Product Development Yields Portmanteau Names
port·man·teau /ˌpôrtˈmantō/ noun A word blending the sounds and combining the meanings of two others, for example motel (from ‘motor’ and ‘hotel’) or brunch (from ‘breakfast’ and ‘lunch’).
Sometimes portmanteau names can be great combinations that help communicate the concept behind the brand. Microsoft is a portmanteau of microcomputer and software. Groupon combines group and coupon. Instagram combines instant (camera) and telegram. These are fantastic combinations that subtly reveal the underlying brand positioning, which aids in the memorability of the brand name.
Sometimes portmanteau names are lazy combinations that just don’t work (see the POOLIFE combination in this post). http://nameflash.com/2018/08/the-perils-of-portmanteau-names/
And sometimes, portmanteau names are simply the result of clever product development ideas.
Heinz (Kraft Heinz Company: NASDAQ: KHC) is a product development wizard as they regularly introduce new items to capture the imagination of condiment users. For example, a few years ago they introduced sriracha and jalapeño flavored ketchup. And they called them… sriracha and jalapeño flavored ketchup. Not exactly names that lend themselves to PR pickup.
But recently they launched another combo product…and called it MAYOCHUP.
Classic use of the portmanteau technique: MAYONNAISE + KETCHUP = MAYOCHUP. The internet exploded.
But Heinz did not stop there. Their product development pipeline kicked in other condiment combinations, yielding:
Heinz even reached into the pantry of Kraft to add barbecue sauce and ranch dressing:
Heinz has always had excellent product development ideas, but now they have discovered the portmanteau method of naming to reinforce the 1 + 1 = 2 product positioning behind the combination of condiments.
If Heinz had this formula when they were launching the sriracha flavored ketchup they might have called it SRIRACHUP. Now, unfortunately for Heinz, the name SRIRACHUP has already been trademarked by a competitor…but why not KETCHACHA?
What future combinations can we expect from the Kraft Heinz Company?
Mark Prus is a Pittsburgh based marketing consultant who offers a name development service, NameFlashSM, which is based on a customer-focused approach to name development.