Pernod Ricard turns to QR codes to fight fakers
French beverage company Pernod Ricard will add QR codes to all products sold in China from next April in a bid to thwart counterfeiters and engage with customers. Customers buying Pernod Ricard beverages will be able to scan the codes using their smartphone and not only check if the bottle is genuine but also learn about the production process and other features of the brand, whilst providing valuable market intelligence to the manufacturer, according to a just-drinks.com report.
The move is an extension of the company’s use of QR codes and smartphone apps to engage with its customers, for example by providing access to personalised drink recipes. Pernod Ricard has adopted a multi-layered approach to anti-counterfeiting, with field teams constantly scanning the marketplace for fakes and packaging innovations adopted to make it harder for criminals to mimic its products. In addition the QR codes, the company has also introduced distinctive bottle designs for its Ricard and Absolut Elyx brands that adhere to certain specific 3D dimensions and are harder to copy. In 2011, the company scored a victory against counterfeits in Asia after Chinese Supreme People’s Court handed down a verdict on a case involving Chivas Regal and Royal Salute in Daxing.
Related Posts
Kansas tax hike on tobacco would triple smuggling rates, researchers project
Tobacco smuggling would triple, and nearly half the cigarettes used in Kansas...
Fake privacy gadgets, from Anonabox to Sever: Fighting a strange and profitable epidemic
Digital privacy and security took center stage in 2013, when we learned the...
Producers concerned by the new face of counterfeiting
The lack of control laboratory, lack of industry standards, carelessness, makes...
LETTER: Smoke over smuggling
The Tobacco Institute of SA (Tisa) is supposedly concerned about the illicit...