First there was Heinz Creme Egg Mayo – an April Fool that actually wasn’t, and which was described by the Stylist team variously as “not unpleasant” and “an abomination”.

Now, Heinz has stirred up debate yet again with the launch of another hybrid condiment, namely Saucy Sauce: a combination of Heinz Seriously Good Mayonnaise and Heinz Tomato Ketchup that will be available in Tesco from 23 August. That’s right, ketchup and mayo premixed in a tube to save you the bother of having to blend your own condiments.

And the news has elicited some STRONG feelings across the Stylist office.

Broadly, people fell into one of three camps. The first camp is those of the ‘never the twain shall meet’ persuasion – ketchup and mayo are both very welcome with a plate of chips but under NO circumstances should the two touch (“I AM NOT AN ANIMAL,” was one colleague’s incensed response). Much like a teacher trying to police horny teenagers at a school disco, the sauces must be kept a minimum distance apart at ALL times.

The second camp is the DIY blenders. Everyone’s welcome at this party, and mixing is actively encouraged. “Ketchup, come on in! Have you met my friend Mayo? You guys have SO much in common.” How much mixing goes on, though, is very much down to personal preference. Maybe I want just mayo on this chip. Maybe this one needs a little of both. Maybe I’ll mix up my own Marie Rose-style dip. Either way, this is not something that should be dictated.

The third camp is the mavericks. They don’t care about your stupid condiment rules. They laugh in the face of conformity. I’m talking about the ones who mix ketchup with brown sauce. The ones who straight-up want nothing to do with mayo (“the absolute worst, horrific”) or ketchup (“ketchup is the devil and I hate it”). The ones who prefer sweet chilli sauce, and the one who has genuinely NEVER tried either ketchup or mayo and prefers only a liberal dusting of salt (you know who you are). 

In conclusion, only one person in the Stylist team was into the idea of Saucy Sauce – but with the caveat that the ketchup to mayo ratio was just right.

Despite Team Stylist’s reservations, clearly some people are very excited about this new launch. Following a Twitter poll last year, 57% of Heinz’s followers voted in favour of the sauce being launched in the UK.

In fact, the sauce arrived in US stores last year and in Canada earlier this year – where it is known as Mayochup – and has proven popular alongside stablemates Mayomust (mayo and mustard), Kranch (ketchup and ranch dressing) and Mayocue (mayo and barbecue sauce).

Unfortunately, this portmanteau was already trademarked in Europe and after brainstorming hundreds of potential names, Heinz settled on Saucy Sauce (oh, to have been in that meeting). It’s probably a good thing. The sauce came up against further controversy across the Pond when it emerged that the word Mayochup sounded dangerously similar to the indigenous North American language Cree’s word for ‘shitface’.

As with all new food products, the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and if you want to get your hands on one, Heinz Saucy Sauce will be available to buy from Tesco from 23 August, priced £2.69. The chips are down, so to speak.