Heinz’s Double-Lid Ketchup Bottle Fail
Heinz has done something diabolical and added a lid on both sides of the ketchup bottle. So why did they do this? Well, they wanted to put an end to the ancient debate. No, not the debate about whether aliens are real. And not even if a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable, but it's definitely a vegetable. Nope, they wanted to end the debate on which side up the ketchup bottle should be placed. Because apparently people aren't sure which way up to store this thing. Personally, if I was the CEO of Heinz, I would have made that top half pointy. That way you don't have to waste all your time with this. However, Heinz had a different idea and the best part is it completely backfired.
Before Heinz made this design, they made this one, which you're probably familiar with, which is called the upside down bottle, because the lid is on the bottom. They did this because they wanted to make it easier for the customer to squirt the ketchup out. However, they noticed this started happening, where they turned the bottle upside down again. So basically their redesign failed, thinking, how are we going to sort this problem out? Well, why did the problem need sorting out in the first place? Well, Heinz claimed they wanted to do this to reduce the waste. So you basically get every drop of ketchup out of the bottle.
And also so you don't waste food because we're being very ecologically friendly. So what do they do? Well, they add another chunk of plastic on which is very ecologically friendly. You just can't make this up. Heinz, for the sake of everything, just take my idea and make it pointy at the top. And don't worry, I'll make sure I send you the invoice for my consultancy fee in the post. You're welcome. Make sure you follow me for more business fails just like this.
Heinz’s Double-Lid Ketchup Bottle Fail
Heinz has done something diabolical and added a lid on both sides of the ketchup bottle. So why did they do this? Well, they wanted to put an end to the ancient debate. No, not the debate about whether aliens are real. And not even if a tomato is a fruit or a vegetable, but it's definitely a vegetable. Nope, they wanted to end the debate on which side up the ketchup bottle should be placed. Because apparently people aren't sure which way up to store this thing. Personally, if I was the CEO of Heinz, I would have made that top half pointy. That way you don't have to waste all your time with this. However, Heinz had a different idea and the best part is it completely backfired.
Before Heinz made this design, they made this one, which you're probably familiar with, which is called the upside down bottle, because the lid is on the bottom. They did this because they wanted to make it easier for the customer to squirt the ketchup out. However, they noticed this started happening, where they turned the bottle upside down again. So basically their redesign failed, thinking, how are we going to sort this problem out? Well, why did the problem need sorting out in the first place? Well, Heinz claimed they wanted to do this to reduce the waste. So you basically get every drop of ketchup out of the bottle.
And also so you don't waste food because we're being very ecologically friendly. So what do they do? Well, they add another chunk of plastic on which is very ecologically friendly. You just can't make this up. Heinz, for the sake of everything, just take my idea and make it pointy at the top. And don't worry, I'll make sure I send you the invoice for my consultancy fee in the post. You're welcome. Make sure you follow me for more business fails just like this.
The TikTok video titled “Heinz’s Double-Lid Ketchup Bottle Fail” by @ndainternet went viral because it combines humor, everyday relatability, and subtle product design critique in a way that feels both entertaining and oddly educational. The creator explores Heinz’s bizarre decision to release a ketchup bottle with lids on both ends, framing it as a failed attempt to solve the long-running debate over which side of the bottle should face up. While the intention was to be helpful and reduce waste, the execution — according to the creator — is both impractical and ironically wasteful.
He breaks down Heinz’s logic: the original “upside-down” bottle was created to make ketchup more easily accessible and minimize food waste by keeping the contents ready to dispense. However, consumer behavior didn’t quite align — people still flipped it back and forth, causing confusion and defeating the purpose. So Heinz introduced a new bottle design with two lids, allegedly to settle the debate once and for all and improve convenience. But instead of resolving the issue, it only complicated things further, and more importantly, added extra plastic, undercutting Heinz’s supposed eco-friendly mission.
What makes this video especially engaging is the creator’s sarcastic tone and mock-consultant persona, suggesting that simply making the top pointy would have solved everything without redesigning the whole bottle. This humorous delivery transforms a seemingly minor design flaw into a full-blown case study in corporate overengineering and the disconnect between intention and execution.
The video went viral because it taps into a universal consumer frustration — the over-complication of everyday products — and highlights how even huge brands like Heinz can misread customer behavior in their pursuit of innovation. The pacing is tight, the humor is accessible, and the content feels both shareable and discussion-worthy. The final jab — offering to invoice Heinz for the better solution — adds a perfect punchline.
In summary, this TikTok resonated because it blends comedy with real critique, showing how even the most iconic products can stumble when they try too hard to fix something that wasn’t broken. It’s not just about ketchup — it’s about how brands often confuse cleverness with practicality, and that insight, delivered with personality, is exactly what makes content go viral.
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