Heinz has launched an unlikely partnership with alcohol brand Absolut in response to a social media craze for Italian classic pasta alla vodka.
The two brands have joined for the first time to create the Heinz x Absolut Tomato Vodka Pasta Sauce, which will be available in limited amounts from Waitrose in mid-April.
Heinz described the collaboration as “a match made in pasta heaven.”
Pasta alla vodka has been a staple in Italian restaurants for decades, with the alcohol used to help the cream meld with the tomato base and balance out the flavours.
But interest in the recipe intensified in 2020 after model Gigi Hadid posted an Instagram Story of herself cooking “spicy vodka pasta”.
During the cooking process, most of the alcohol from the vodka is reduced, "boosting the volatile flavour compounds already present in the tomatoes and creating a rich texture that perfectly balances the creamy, cheese notes with the rich tomato and fragrant basil," Heinz said.