Spoiler Investigation - Swollen Ketchup Bottles

A ketchup leading company in Brazil faced a persistent and costly quality issue: random swelling of ketchup bottles. The swelling led to customer complaints that peaked 13-16 weeks after production, affecting up to 2% of total output.

Complaints were highly variable, spiking on certain dates, but recurring throughout the year and across all ketchup flavors. The issue was especially problematic for a facility which produces 4,200 tons of ketchup per month.

The swelling problem not only risked significant financial loss but also threatened the brand reputation and customer trust.

This case study explores how the customer leveraged the SMARTBIOME™ platform to help identify the root cause of their problem and implement targeted corrective and preventive measures.