The market is flooded with options. Your product is one of them. So, how would you stand out from the rest before they overtake your sales? The easiest method is to come up with an innovative product design that catches customers' eyes without spending a ton on advertising or other marketing.
A good package leaves a positive impression, impacting customer decisions and inviting them to try the product for once. However, getting the audience's attention is not the only use of an innovative design, it prevents the unwanted attention of counterfeiters waiting to duplicate your product and sell at a cheaper price.
How Innovative Packaging Secures Your Product?
Product packaging serves as the first point of interaction between a product and its consumers. It is not just a container but a vital brand identity and protection component.
1. Anti-Counterfeiting
Product designs are easy to replicate as every product has a similar design feature. Most water bottles have a cylindrical shape that is only distinguishable by the labels applied to it. This makes it easier for counterfeiters to duplicate them in abundance and pass them off as original packaging. Customers will be unsuspecting and there is no other way to verify them.
Bringing in an innovative design helps
- Customers can instantly identify the product without relying on a secondary method.
- Difficult for counterfeiters to replicate due to the cost and unavailability of tools to replicate.
Well-designed packaging also speaks for the product quality and integrity of the brand, reinforcing consumer trust.
2. Art of Complexity
Why is it difficult to replicate a masterpiece painting or any other artwork? Because many fail to copy the details, tiny and hidden, which makes the original unique. Having an innovative design with detailing that is difficult for the naked eye to capture will provide an additional layer of security. Intricate detailing helps to distinguish the product upon inspection leaving the counterfeiters clueless.
- Infusing microprinting is one of the major ways that makes it easier for verification and harder for replication.
- A holographic pattern or invisible ink integrated into the product label allows you to secure your product with an extra layer of anti-counterfeiting protection.
Effective packaging design can include tamper-evident features and other security measures that help ensure the product's safety and integrity.
3. Material Matters
It's not just about what's on the package, but what it's made of. The materials your product is made out of allow verification with tactile inspection. Specialised materials, security threads, special textures and watermarks make packaging harder to replicate.
This helps to
- Identify the brand and product without viewing the label or using a third-party solution to verify.
- Impossible for counterfeiters to duplicate similar materials or textures due to higher cost.
- Provides a premium or exclusive experience to the customers, different from the bland materials the competitors provide.
4. Engaging the Consumer
Perhaps the most powerful anti-counterfeiting tool is an educated consumer. Packaging can play an important role in spreading brand awareness. Brands are increasingly using their packaging to educate customers about authentication features, turning every purchase into a moment of engagement and trust-building.
- Packaging with QR or other codes embedded can allow customers to interact with the product as an anti-counterfeiting tool
- The interaction is also a marketing measure to provide rewards, and engage and retain the customer, increasing the Life lifetime value (LTV) of the customer.
Anti-Counterfeiting Technologies for Innovative Packaging
Packaging design is not merely an aesthetic aspect of a product; it is an important component of brand protection. Having an innovative and distinct package design can give you a headstart in preventing counterfeiting. But to have your packaging design act as an effective anti-counterfeiting measure needs the integration of multiple technologies and security features.
Here are 7 technologies you could choose from:
1. Unique Security Features
Holograms created using light beam interference provide a three-dimensional effect offering a visually striking security feature. The complexity makes them a major solution against counterfeiting. Foil stamping, unlike holograms, involves applying metallic foil to the packaging. This acts as a design element and a security feature which is expensive to replicate. Major luxury brand Chanel uses foil stamping in their perfume packaging to build a premium feel and non-cloneable features.
- Tamper-Evident Seals
Tamper-evident seals are placed in the form of adhesive labels, shrink bands or breakable caps. Broken, indicates that the product was tampered with or opened beforehand. The food and beverage industry largely relies on tamper-evident seals to ensure product safety. Major brands like Coca-Cola and Pepsico leverage both QR labels and tamper-evident seals to prevent tampering or counterfeiting.
Must Read: Top 5 Technologies to Protect Your Brand from Counterfeiters in 2024
2. Complex Printing Techniques
Microtext is not so easily visible to the naked eye but can be verified with magnification tools. Nano text uses even smaller text that requires advanced microscopy to read. Integrating them into the product adds an extra dimension of security, which is a detail counterfeiters may lose out on while duplicating due to the need for specialised equipment.
Rolex watches employ micro text on their watch faces, embedding serial numbers and brand logos that can only be seen under magnification, thereby deterring counterfeiters.
Colour-shifting inks change colour when viewed from different angles. When tilted, the packaging shifts from one colour to another, indicating authenticity. This dynamic visual effect is difficult to reproduce and can be used as a quick verification tool for consumers and retailers. A cosmetic brand incorporates colour-shifting inks in its packaging design, creating an eye-catching effect that also serves as a security feature.
3. Serialisation and Unique Identifiers
- QR Codes and Barcodes
QR codes are an improvement to hologram labels. They provide enhanced security which can be verified using a mobile application. Certify labels provide a unique identity to the product which makes the product non-replicable. QR codes and barcodes are widely used for tracking and verifying products throughout the supply chain. Each code is unique to the product unit, allowing for precise tracking and verification.
Advanced unique security codes provide enhanced anti-counterfeiting for your products. Using multiple layers of security, advanced unique code like the Yellow label brings 100% non-cloneable elements to the product. Upon scanning with the dedicated mobile application, the AI-integrated algorithms check against the database to confirm the product's authenticity. These codes can be printed on the packaging or embedded within the product itself.
4. Advanced Materials
Security threads and fibres are commonly used in preventing currency counterfeiting. They are embedded into packaging materials and can be visible or invisible to the naked eye. The effectiveness of the solution has allowed pharmaceutical companies to incorporate the security threads visible under UV light into their blister packs, making it easy for pharmacists to verify authenticity without additional tools.
- Specialised Substrates
Specialised substrates allow for a packaging design that allows for a quick and seamless verification of products. Custom-made papers, films and composites are difficult to source and replicate adding an extra layer of security to packaging. Johnnie Walker, a premium spirits manufacturer uses a proprietary blend of materials for its bottle labels to make the packaging distinguishable and impossible for counterfeiters to replicate.
7. Custom Branding Elements
- Distinctive Design and Artwork
Creating distinct, unique and complex designs that are difficult to duplicate makes the packaging more secure. Custom artwork, proprietary fonts and distinctive patterns serve as visual indicators of authenticity.
- Incorporating elements that are specific to the brand and recognised by customers can deter counterfeiting.
- The features can include brand-specific logos, colour schemes and design motifs.
Cadbury, a FMCG giant uses proprietary colour, font and artwork to prevent competitors and counterfeiters from copying their packaging design. This also allowed them to be easily recognisable by customers across the globe.
Packaging Breaks or Makes Your Brand
Packaging design is important for your brand. In an era where customers are increasingly preferring online shopping, your packaging design becomes a vital factor in deciding the product's quality. A well-designed product catering to all the needs of customers surely gets a pick among the others. So create a packaging design that is Unique, Distinct and Non-Cloneable. Integrate your brand style, your product USP and your values into the package design and let that speak for itself. Build a loyal customer base and ensure a competitive edge in the market.
If you are looking for someone to guide you through the complexities of implementing anti-counterfeiting solutions into the packaging, get in touch with us today.
