Talking about traceability is talking about security and control in an industry where counterfeiting and parallel markets account for 509 billion USD in losses of consumer goods. And where more than 112 billion USD are invested only in the anti-counterfeiting packaging.
The economic losses for brands are obvious, but there is a much greater loss and it is brand image. Being in markets which brands do not choose seriously damages prestige and sales strategy and indirectly produces a considerable income decrease.
If we add to this the danger caused by counterfeiting in terms of consumer health, the problem is even bigger. Especially in these times of crisis; where some essential products to fight the spread of the outbreak of the virus are missing.
Interpol announced the seizure of 14 million USD worth of fake products related to the covid-19 such as masks and hand sanitiser.
Addressing this problem was a necessity, and this is why kaiosID was created; a Swiss company founded by Johan Wüthrich, the CEO and his co-founder Raphaël Hunziker, the COO. Both of whom come from the packaging and anti-counterfeiting industries.
These experts in the field, who each have more than 15 years of experience in the industry, have devised a traceability solution that is in total harmony with the product and what it represents.
A product is nothing without the story that surrounds it; the story built around and which represents the whole essence of it.
A story that makes it unique and desirable with elements of packaging such as boxes, bottles, bags, labels and so on, which contribute to generate its own "story telling".These elements that convey the beauty of the brand, often come up against a fundamental element which is the safety of the product itself. In other words, beauty and safety are two concepts that are constantly being challenged and that are difficult to marry.
This is why beauty is difficult to match with safety, especially in the cosmetics industry where image is so important.
Everything communicates, everything seduces, and hence the importance of having packaging that, in addition to being functional, is attractive and makes a consumer fall in love with it among all the other choices.
KaiosID, unlike other existing traceability solutions, contributes to tell the story of the product through the packaging; it respects it, pampers it and, most importantly, is infinitely more secure.
Above all kaiosID managed to find a perfect balance between safety and beauty
Many other traceability solutions exist, but none of them is efficient enough. There are barcodes, QR codes, datamatrix or batch numbers, among others, which fulfil this function but are very easy to neutralize and manipulate; they are removed, replaced, scratched, painted.
And when this happens, the product becomes untraceable as it’s impossible to read the code. All the features of the traceability, the ability to track the product, all the information and the DNA of the product is lost.
Therefore, when products are found on the grey market, there is no way to know the distribution channel they come from.
KaiosID, turns what we understand today as a traceability solution upside down and does it in a big way; it does not focus its energy on a small and visible add-on of the packaging as codes do, but it covers, with its traceability solution, 100% of the packaging.
It means that whoever wants to manipulate it, has to destroy the entire packaging, which would therefore destroy the product and make it impossible to sell.
KaiosID’s unique method integrates visible or invisible variations into the packaging’s design, which allows the product identification. There are two ways to do this; patterns are designed and integrated into the packaging, or the solution is adapted to fit the existing design of the brand; the choice of one or the other depends on the brand’s preferences.
The visual elements used to generate the pattern are co-designed and validated by the brands and are then used to generate millions of different random patterns thanks to proprietary algorithms.
The packaging is digitally printed on demand and includes the variable patterns. It means each product as a unique package. It allows an individual identification of each single product, and not just the usual batch number feedback.
Another advantage of using this system is that the entire product packaging is printed at once, including the patterns. This simplifies the process, since no additional operations have to be done later on production lines.
Identification is also very simple, since it can be done from any Smart Phone
This system does not require any extra investment in terms of staff or hardware such as specialised printers or scanners, its easy integration has therefore a minimum cost.
This way, the product is scanned, recognisable from any part of the packaging, and the user quickly gets access to all the information the brand previously established as relevant.
Not only is the authenticity of the product known, whether it is fake or not, but also the identification and traceability information of the product. The provided information can be the origin, the date of production, the name of the distributor, the distribution route or the market to which it belongs.
Thus, the pattern becomes the "fingerprint" of the product and is recorded in an encrypted database. A simple and intuitive platform allows customers to access all the information such as distribution channels, real-time scans, field reports and advanced statistics.
In addition, brands can set up custom alerts and notifications to detect fraudulent activity; allowing them to have a quick and global view on a single platform.
It is a 100% customisable solution designed by and for brands. In the early stages of collaboration, brands not only design patterns, but also choose what information they want to obtain.
They can also decide who can access this information, the type of alert they want to receive, the statistics they want to see, etc. And all this will allow them, not only to have knowledge about the distribution of their products, but also to make key decisions when it comes to putting more effort into some markets or others.
In short, the information gives them the security to be able to make the best decisions at all times, thus making any brand strategy profitable.
KaiosID collaborates with the main international printing companies; this allows the production to be controlled at all times, the quality and requirements to be as the brands are used to.
KaiosID also adapts to collaborate with printing companies the brands already work with. This facilitates the integration of the entire system.
Finally, it is important to highlight the company's know-how, thanks to the international recognition it has gained in such a short time at trade fairs, competitions and in the publications of magazines and industry guides.
An example of this is having been a finalist in Comsetic Victories 2019 for the best innovation of the year, a finalist also for the best packaging innovation in Cosmetic 360, having been voted as one of the 50 startups to invest in by Bilan Magazine, having won the audience award in the Phillip Morris Equity Partner Startup Challenge 2019, having been a finalist in Venture Prize 2019 and in Mass Challenge Switzerland 2019, among others.
As a conclusion; counterfeiting and parallel markets exist and will always exist, but with solutions like kaiosID, brands of luxury products and also general brands, make sure to be one step ahead and win the race.
