Cookware quality recovery for Vietnam
LIFA investigated peeling cookware coatings for a Vietnamese importer, recovered part of the defective-batch claim and helped reduce returns to 1.1%.
- The buyer
- A Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam importer-distributor serving 200+ retail outlets, with ~$1.6M annual kitchenware sales.
- The product scope
- Stainless steel cookware sets with ceramic non-stick coating; 5 SKUs, 12,000 units per order cycle.
What needed to change?
Coating peeled after 4-6 weeks of use on 9% of units sold; returns climbed to 7.2% of sales; the factory blamed "user misuse" and refused a claim.
How LIFA managed the work
We conducted a coating-process audit: pre-treatment, spray thickness, curing temperature and time.
We verified coating raw-material certificates (food-contact grade) at the supplier.
We re-sourced 3 alternative factories with documented coating lines and test facilities.
We set a 500-cycle dishwasher and abrasion test standard for acceptance.
Claim recovered for 60% of the defective batch; new factory passed all coating tests; return rate down to 1.1%; relaunch completed within one season.
From our company project database, with the work, approvals and results shown together.
What this project shows
Check coating preparation, thickness and curing conditions as well as the material certificate. Performance testing then provides an acceptance basis for replacement production.
Client identities, supplier contacts and confidential commercial terms are withheld from this public company record.
