Dec 12, 2016When European wineries and spirit companies export their high-cost products, they expect the beverages they ship to be the same ones consumed by buyers. But thanks to counterfeiters in Asia and other parts of the world, that's not always the case. Amcor Capsules is selling a solution known as InTact, a Near Field Communication (NFC)-enabled capsule that can be fitted over a corked bottle of wine or spirits. The capsule stores a unique ID number to authenticate the bottle, and a tamper-evident feature in the NFC tag lets users know if the capsule has been removed. The NFC technology, including tag, software and app, is provided by anti-counterfeiting technology company Selinko.
The InTact capsule not only ensures the authenticity of a bottle of wine, but it can be used with an app to promote the product, thereby providing appropriate content based on whether or not that bottle has been opened. The system works with Selinko's cloud-based content-management software that enables companies to confirm each bottle's authenticity with the tap of a smartphone. Selinko can also provide its Android-based app that businesses can use to push content to consumers' phones.
French burgundy winery Domaine Henri Rebourseau, in Gevrey-Chambertin, is already applying the InTact capsules to its products, while other wineries are in discussions to launch the technology as well. Amcor also offers a similar InTact capsule for spirit brands, says Lucie Neubauerova, the company's marketing executive.
Wineries report that counterfeiting is a growing problem as the market for high-value wines expands. According to unofficial industry estimates, about 20 percent of wine sold around the world is counterfeit. This problem is especially prominent in China, where much of the counterfeiting takes place before the product is sold to Chinese consumers. In some cases, counterfeiters acquire an empty bottle and fill it with their own lower-value product, then seal the bottle and sell it as a new product from the wine maker named on the label. This problem cannot be addressed simply by tagging the bottle itself, since the bottle and the capsule may, in fact, be authentic. Therefore, Amcor and Selinko developed a system to determine if a bottle has been opened.
The capsule comes with an NFC chip from a variety of suppliers, says Gwennaelle Festraets, Selinko's marketing and communications VP. The chips can include a product from Inside Secure, such as the Vault IC 154 chip, with asymmetric—or bank-grade—encryption capabilities for high-value products with long lifespans, or a lower-cost chip such as NXP Semiconductors' Mifare chip. The brand owner can select the level of security needed, and thus the appropriate chip to offer that security. Each chip is connected to two antennas. The transmission from one antenna is dedicated to marketing and security ID information, and is coiled around the chip at the top of the capsule. The second is intended to verify that the seal has not been broken, thus authenticating not only the bottle, but the product inside it as well. The latter antenna comes with two tabs that extend down the capsule's side and, therefore, down the side of the bottle's lip. Cutting the capsule to remove it from the bottle destroys that antenna.
When an individual holds an NFC reader, such as one in an Android-based phone, within close range of the capsule, the tag transmits a unique ID number and, via the second antenna, a confirmation that the bottle has not been opened. If someone has attempted to open the bottle, and has thus broken the second antenna, that antenna will no longer transmit data. The Selinko software will thus automatically know that the bottle has been opened, and will display that status to warn the user.
An added benefit to tracking when a bottle is opened, Neubauerova reports, is a potential for targeted marketing. If an individual taps the tag on the wine bottle's capsule, its tag ID is read, and the app on the phone or software on the hosted server could then identify whether that bottle has been opened and forward the appropriate content. For instance, if the bottle is unopened, the system can determine a purchase has not yet been made and the user is still in the store. The content could then include information about the wine itself that might help him or her decide whether to buy it. If it has been opened, however, the content can be adjusted to include such content as loyalty rewards or how to pair the wine with specific meals.
Amcor and Selinko first piloted the InTact capsule as a prototype for Johnnie Walker Blue Label whisky, beginning in December 2015. The capsules were attached to a total of 500 bottles sold in Thailand. Johnnie Walker provided its own app, and consumers running the app on their NFC-enabled phones could read a given bottle's tag and access promotional content regarding that product. The pilot concluded after three months. Selinko and Amcor then further developed the product to work with the foil cover wrapped around the wine bottle's corked top. The tin foil created a challenge, Festraets says, since it was not possible to read the NFC chip through the foil. Therefore, Amcor is using a non-metallic material for the InTact capsules. "It looks and feels just the same as the tin capsules," Festraets states.
The wineries interested in using InTact capsules are currently focusing on the anti-counterfeiting use case, but are also interested in potentially providing content to consumers in the future. According to Neubauerova, the anti-counterfeiting use case is a priority for high-end wine and spirits exports. "Both high-end wines and high-end spirits producers may find an added value in the consumer-engagement features that Intact offers," she says.
Domaine Henri Rebourseau is using InTact on several vintages of the winery's Clos de Vougeot wines that will be on the market during the first quarter of 2017.
