Case Study: Heinz tackles ketchup fraud with VML (WPP)

Heinz cuts ketchup fraud 73% with WPP

The customer Heinz faced a challenge with ketchup fraud, where restaurants were refilling empty Heinz bottles with imposter ketchup. To help its customers identify the real product, Heinz worked with the vendor WPP's agency VML on a solution.

VML implemented a campaign called "Is That Heinz?" which introduced a unique control label on bottles featuring a Pantone-matched stripe of the exact Heinz ketchup color. This solution, promoted via an Instagram filter and social media, had a significant measurable impact: a 73% decrease in non-Heinz refills, a 24% increase in Heinz usage in street food restaurants, and 97% of consumers becoming able to identify real Heinz ketchup.

Heinz