Heinz fans divided as brand releases item with twist on old favourite

Heinz has divided baked bean fans with its latest - and very unexpected - imited edition seasonal offering.

The condiment giant, which offers a range of products including soup, salad cream, and tomato ketchup as well as other items, is best known for its famous beans in tomato sauce.

A variety of flavours are on offer, from original and reduced salt and sugar, to BBQ , Tikka, and Jalfrezi varieties.

And now it has shocked tinned food aficionados with its new Christmas option - Beans with Pigs in Blankets.

Describing the festive flavour on its website, Heinz said: 'Jingle All the Way.

'Need proof that Santa got your wish list? Well here it is! Beanz, pigs in blankets, and Christmas seasoning all in one can.

'No need to wait for the big day. Crack them open for a taste of Christmas on your toast.' 

Each full tin (which weighs 400g and costs £1.50 from Sainsbury's, or £2.50 via Heinz's website) contains 426 calories and 18.4 grams of fat.

Sharing their opinion on the product on a post about it on the New Food Spotter website account on Instagram, one described the concoction as 'criminal'.

Seemingly in agreement, another wrote: 'Ya gaarn too far.'  

In a short retort, another poster simply wrote: 'Next.' 

However, others liked the sound of the Holiday-themed pulses, according to the Sun.

The outlet cited one social media user as saying: 'Get in my belly. Christmas just came early.' 

And in a very brief but positive post, another diner simply said: 'Yum.' 

It comes after Heinz made another major change to its baked bean line - one which some fans called 'life changing'.

The brand invented the Beanz Meanz Upside Down can, designed to help the beans 'slip out with ease' when opened.

Costing £1.40 for a standard-size can, the limited edition product can be ordered from the Heinz website.

Around 40 per cent of Brits eat baked beans once a week but nearly one in 10 struggle to get the remaining beans out of the tin, a survey by the much-loved food manufacturer found.

Professor Charles Spence of the University of Oxford, who specialises in food design', sympathised with frustrated bean-lovers and said: 'Caused by the cylindrical shape and narrow opening of Heinz Beanz tins, the beans become trapped in unreachable angles, only made more difficult due to the thick sauce.'

The academic agreed that storing a tin upside down would mean the beans would not settle at the 'bottom', making it easier to enjoy the flavour of every last one. 

The survey of 2,000 people by Heinz also found that the UK is the largest consumer of baked beans in the world. Unsurprisingly Brits get through more than two million cans every day.

Alessandra de Dreuille, the director of meals at Heinz, said: 'We hope our upside down label makes more people aware of the hack and they continue to store their beans upside down even after this limited-edition release runs out.'

One social media user said the hack was 'life changing' while others questioned the true purpose of the limited edition can.

'I've been storing beans upside down for years,' a user commented. 'I think I learned the trick from Facebook'.

'True innovation,' someone agreed.

One man vented: 'Why not just print the label the other way round if stacking them upside down is "the answer"? Simple and effective.'

Someone else suggested: 'Just get your fork in there and scrape it out. You can't afford to let a single bean go to waste the way things are right now'.