• by Tanya Gazdik , September 30, 2024

A limited supply of Volkswagen's Gewürz Ketchup Brand has already been snapped up after becoming available in the U.S. for the first time. 

Distributed through DriverGear, the limited supply of the condiment, which is VW part number 00010 ZDK-259-101, was made available to celebrate the brand’s 75th anniversary in America. 

The public can also get a taste of the condiment when it makes a special appearance at ChainFEST, a food festival in Los Angeles, on Oct. 5.

Although best known for automobiles, the Volkswagen brand has produced and provided food items like the VW currywurst sauce for its German plant employees for decades. 

Many brand fans familiar with this condiment know it is most famous for being paired with Volkswagen’s currywurst sausage, first created in 1973. Developed by Volkswagen-employed chefs, the official currywurst recipe is a secret known only to a few people. 

It was Volkswagen’s currywurst—also once sold under an official VW part number—that originally inspired the Volkswagen condiment production, dating back to 1996.

“This year we’re celebrating more than a big anniversary of selling cars,” says Rachael Zaluzec, senior vice president of customer experience and brand marketing, Volkswagen of America, in a release. “We’re celebrating stories, memories, passion, and all the fun, and unexpected things that make Volkswagen the brand we are today —things like our Gewürz Ketchup Brand condiment.”

As Volkswagen continues to celebrate its 75th anniversary in America, the brand is spotlighting owners and fans with a series of stories on VW.com, like that of Jamie Orr, an enthusiast who—like many fans that visit the brand’s global headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany—started bringing this lesser-known piece of the German Katalog back to the U.S. as a souvenir.

Orr shared that he has been bringing a few bottles of Gewürz Ketchup Brand back as souvenirs for years to give away at his enthusiast gatherings, which inspired the automaker to offer it to other American enthusiasts.