Anti-counterfeiting solution

A PARTNERSHIP between BrandWatch Technologies (U.S.) and Prooftag (France) creates a sophisticated set of protection and marketing tools to help wineries and distilleries overcome the problems of counterfeit product and authentication in overseas markets, such as China, which is recognised as both a huge market for potential growth and a hotbed for counterfeiting problems.

BrandWatch is now offering Prooftag's "Bubble Seal" technology as an integrated component to its multi-layered protection solution, which includes overt, covert, track & trace, and forensic technologies.

Brand owners are provided with an iPhone app that enables distributors and consumers to verify the product they are holding is authentic. The iProof app uses the phone's camera to take a picture of the Bubble Seal, which then cross-references an online database of products to confirm authenticity. Instant offline authenticity can be achieved with the BrandWatch Reveal detector.

"The technology we are providing with our partner, Prooftag, can be deployed as efficiently on a $10 bottle of red table wine, as on a $10,000 bottle of French Bordeaux," said Steve Delepine, vice president of business development at BrandWatch.