A company’s logo, colours and packaging help fight counterfeiting. they are used by consumers to identify brands and choosing what to buy.
Counterfeiting has skyrocketed over the last few decades: according to the International chamber of commerce in 2015 the trade value of counterfeited goods was $1.77 trillion. Yeah, you read it right: trillion. And no product is immune.
Counterfeiting can seriously damage a brand’s image and worry consumers about health and safety. Take a look at over-the-counter and prescription medicine: the counterfeited ones look nearly identical, but with inaccurate ingredients or missing some information such as lot numbers.
To fight this illegal tendency the market is growing, expecting to reach $142.7 billion by 2020. Holograms will remain a leading authentication technology while radio frequency identification, product traceability systems, smart labels and smart caps are on the rise.
Unique and custom packaging can also help, including more forms of authentication, such as bar codes or quick response (QR). With a smartphone, a consumer can scan a code, verify the manufacturer of a product and be directed to a brand owner’s website for more information. In this way, the brand can build consumer trust and has an opportunity to engage with a customer online.
In the pharmaceutical market, where an estimated 10% to 30% of drugs from developed markets are counterfeit, personalized packaging on medication is a growing option for manufacturers. Medication will come labeled to the individual with warnings based on the person’s medical history and existing medications. The label and instructions will be produced in the typeface making it easier to read – for example, an elderly or a near-sighted person may receive labels printed in large print.
The importance of brand consistency
Getting the colour right can help the customer to avoid being duped. 97% of adults will reach past the first product on the shelf, over half says that they will choose another item if the product is dicoloured, while two thirds will question its quality.
According to Mike Cheetham, CEO at Chesapeake, a global producer of consumer packaging, “With counterfeiting on the rise, it’s more important for brands to safeguard product integrity and assure consumer confidence. It is essential that a pack’s color is both accurate and consistent. Together with other anti-counterfeiting techniques, it will help to combat an increasingly sophisticated global threat.”
Source article on Packaging Digest.