What makes for a really good birthday weekend? With Heinz, it’s real food, real games, and real fun. 

Last May 25 and 26, the beloved condiment brand set up the Heinz Red Zone in BGC to mark its 155 years of all-real goodness. The Pinoy-inspired pop-up gave visitors the chance to bring home Heinz ketchup pouches by competing in the Palarong Heinz, a palarong Pinoy-style course of games.

The event also debuted the newly-minted Heinz Crew, who had fun with the crowd in trying out the Palarong Heinz, mixing new concoctions of flavorful Heinz combinations, and taking IG-worthy pictures around the venue.

Feeling a little FOMO? Don’t worry, here’s a roundup to let you have a taste of the fun that went down.

All-real fun at the Palarong Heinz booths

The main event of the Heinz Red Zone was Palarong Heinz: a five-part game course inspired by Heinz’s process of creating their iconic ketchup. Players went all out as they took on jackstones, a selfie challenge, tumbang preso, tongue twisters, and piko which represented harvesting, pulping, mixing, heating, cooling, and packing, respectively. At the end of the course, players got a Heinz ketchup pouch to bring home and add into their everyday meals. 

“These Filipino games are deeply rooted in tradition and community, which also mirrors our own values as Heinz to bring joy, togetherness, and goodness for 155 years,” said Widita Wimala, Heinz head of marketing for South and Southeast Asia and Hong Kong. 

Making real memories with the crew

The Heinz Crew also joined forces for the first time to celebrate with Heinz and join the Heinz Red Zone festivities. Crewmates Mimiyuuuh, Benedict Cua, Ady Cotoco, Cocoy Lim, and Emilio Daez were first in line to test out the Palarong Heinz course. Mimiyuuh, who proclaimed herself as a veteran street game player since childhood, came out as the Palarong Heinz champion.

Keeping the competitive spirit going, the crew then had their Meryenda Burger Wars. Each crew member whipped up their own sauces made not only from Heinz Tomato Ketchup, but also the wide range of sauces and condiments from Heinz’s portfolio. These are: classic, korean-style, creamy BBQ mayo, smoky mayo, and BBQ apple cinnamon. Seven Red Zone visitors were chosen to judge the crew’s creations, and Ady’s korean-style burger came out on top. (If you ask us, our favorite was the BBQ apple cinnamon!)

Rappler also got to chat with the Heinz Crew, who shared their own memories with Heinz. Mimiyuuuh recounted her high school days of munching on Heinz packets as a classroom snack to now being part of the Heinz Crew. “Sobrang sobrang love ko po talaga Heinz…Nagpapapak po ako during the class,” she said.

Really good food and loot

What’s the best way to relax after a competitive round of games and sauce-making shenanigans? Grabbing a bite to eat, of course. In true Filipino fashion, Heinz fed its party guests with a meryenda meal of burgers, fries, and sparkling tomato juice. Guests also got to boost their meals with the sauce of their choice coming from the Heinz Crew’s Burger Meryenda Wars.

To cement their Heinz Red Zone memories, guests also got to take “Gen-Z” 0.5x selfies in the Heinz photobooth. Food, games, and awesome Instagram posts? Now that’s a weekend for the books.

Want to experience the Heinz Red Zone in the future? Follow @HeinzPhilippines to stay updated on their next events. – Rappler.com