Coffee packaging quality recovery for Ethiopia
LIFA traced failed coffee-bag valves to a component supplier, coordinated replacement packaging sources and reduced valve failures below 0.3%.
- The buyer
- An Addis Ababa, Ethiopia specialty coffee roaster exporting to 9 countries.
- The product scope
- Stand-up coffee pouches with one-way degassing valves; 6 sizes, ~2.5 million bags per year.
What needed to change?
Customers reported flat, stale coffee; 4% of bags had failed valves (open or blocked); exports to two EU buyers were paused pending investigation.
How LIFA managed the work
We tested valve function (opening pressure, closure) on 200 bags.
We traced the failure to a batch of low-cost valves from a sub-supplier.
We qualified 2 packaging suppliers using certified valve components.
We implemented valve-function sampling at the packing line and pre-shipment.
EU buyers resumed orders after corrective evidence; valve failure rate fell below 0.3%; export volume grew 22% the following year.
From our company project database, with the work, approvals and results shown together.
What this project shows
Small packaging components can determine shelf performance. Testing valve opening and closure isolated the fault more precisely than inspecting the finished bag alone.
Client identities, supplier contacts and confidential commercial terms are withheld from this public company record.
