Whenever you purchase a luxury product you are left gobsmacked by the enticing and intriguing packaging. As you unwrap each layer of the packaging your excitement spikes up. Packaging plays an important role in the brand image of your product. Consider some of the biggest brands on the planet like Google, Amazon, Unilever, Prada, etc. they all have one thing in common and that is an exceptional packaging.

With a steady increase in e-commerce, social media and the ‘internet of things’ packaging has come to the forefront when it comes to showcasing your product and your company that’s why packaging is often considered as the first communicator of the company. Brands are using different kinds of packaging formats in order to make their products more saleable and attractive.

Perhaps, the biggest innovation in the field of packaging is the use of holography. The technology of holography which uses the interference of light beams to create three-dimensional images became highly popular in the 1980s. Over the years, there has been a growth in the use of holography in packaging. According to a trade report, “The global holographic film market is expected to be valued more than US$ 11,000 million by the end of 2024.

Holostik is one of the leading manufacturers of holographic security and packaging products like security holograms, wide web films, security pouches, shrink sleeves, hot stamping foil, and security labels.

What makes Holostik’s holographic packaging stand out in the market? Here are three main benefits it provides for your product:

Secures your product against counterfeiting and tampering: Holographic products like security holograms, holographic labels, and wide web films protect your brand against duplication. Holostik’s holographic products can include different types of overt, covert and forensic features which add multiple layers of security to the packaging of the product.
Enhances point of sale visibility: Besides providing anti-duplication qualities holographic packaging makes the product look unique and makes it stand out on the shelf. The light-reflecting properties catch the eye of a consumer in instants, compared to normal packaging.
Offers flexibility in packaging: Holographic packaging can be used for a wide variety of products and can also encompass digital security features like QR codes and barcodes.

Holostik offers a wide range of holographic anti-counterfeiting and packaging solutions to different industries. To know more about our products call us on +91–785-785-7000 or drop us an e-mail at connect@holostik.com

There has been a sharp rise in the number of fake products across the globe. Counterfeiting is impacting consumers, manufacturers and governments. Almost every industry is affected by the problem of duplication. According to a joint report by KPMG and FICCI the counterfeiting business us going to become $1.90 -$2.81 trillion industry by 2022.

Organizations are trying their level best to counter the threat of duplication. The added costs in fighting fakes comes as an extra burden. Besides the company facing duplication has to deal with poor brand image which often takes years to build.

Let’s discuss some of the negative impacts of counterfeiting on manufacturers:

Loss of sales revenue and profit margins: No wonder, a good amount of sales is synonymous with the growth of the company. The sale of duplicate items leads to a drop-down in the sale of a company’s products. If it goes unchecked, then it can lead to a complete downfall of the company. Due to multiple sale locations of the product, it is quite hard for a company to trace the manufacturing location of counterfeits.

Poor brand and product image: No wonder, the sale of counterfeits lead to a tarnished image of the brand and its products. The sale cheap fakes lead to a false perception among consumers regarding the quality of the product and the brand. Unaware consumers often think that they are buying original products but instead, they receive fakes.

Added cost on fighting fakes: Companies have to incorporate different strategies for fighting counterfeiting of their products. This comes in the form of added costs for the organization already facing the problem of duplication.

Counterfeiting causes losses worth billions of dollars to the global economy. However, with the help anti-counterfeiting solutions manufacturers can fight the menace of duplicate products. Holostik is an industry leader in providing the best anti-counterfeiting solutions as per the client’s needs.

Packaging plays an important role in protecting and promoting the product. Marketing gurus consider packaging as the first communicator of the company. In the last few years, flexible packaging has become highly popular in different industries. Flexible packaging products are not just durable but also offer ease of transportation. Among the many flexible packaging solutions, holographic wide web films offer both safety and security.

Holostik is one of the leading players in providing holographic wide films. The presence of holography in wide web films helps in the prevention of counterfeiting and tampering. Holographic wide web films are available in many sizes and can include different security features. Holostik has been providing holographic wide web films to different industries.

Holographic wide web films are available in PET (polyethylene terephthalate) (minimum thickness 12 microns) and BOPP (biaxially oriented polypropylene) (minimum thickness 20 microns). The films are known for their self-adhesiveness, clarity, quality, and shine. Special care has been taken by experts in making the product compatible with international standards and the latest market trends.

Some features of Holostik’s holographic wide web films are as follows:

Attractive looks with optimum clarity.
Shiny and glossy with high brightness & high gloss holographic effects.
Superior bonding strength heat resistant and waterproof.
Available in different colors and patterns, Plain, light beam and patterns. Many designs are available for selection and customer designs.
Used for toiletries, tobacco, flexible packaging, printing, wine boxes, gift boxes, books, magazines, boxes, printed products, and other paper products laminating. suitable for high-grade imitation and pseudo carton laminating.

There are many times when the medicines you take do not help you in relieving from the ailment. Sometimes these medicines may cause many unwanted side effects on your body. This simply means that such medicines may be of low quality or counterfeit.

The market of fake medicines has grown tremendously over the past few years. Such spurious medicines can be found at government pharmacies, big pharma stores, local drug stores to small shops. Nowadays, people have become highly susceptible to fake or spurious medicines. This is because of many reasons like lack of awareness, poor monitoring of supply chains and weak regulations.

Here are some shocking facts about counterfeiting in the Pharma industry.

Around 20% of all drugs sold in the Indian market are counterfeit- (Source: US Trade Representative Office Annual Report)
Up to 10% of drugs in developing countries are fake, costing an annual loss of $10bn to $200 Billion. (Source: American Journal of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene)
35 percent of fake drugs sold all over the world come from India. (Source: WHO Report)

Now let’s discuss some of the challenges posed by counterfeit medicines.

1. Prevents the business growth of Pharma companies: One of the biggest impacts of counterfeiting in the pharma business is that it brings down the profits of legitimate manufacturers. Market reports state that fake medicines lead to an annual loss of $46 billion for pharma companies worldwide.

Hampers the use and promotion of low-cost generic drugs: A major share of India’s drug market is dominated by branded generics. To promote the use of less expensive branded generic medicines government is taking various measures but, the circulation of fake drugs blocks its promotion and sale. This is because medicine earns a bad reputation due to its duplication.

3. Increased pressure on health and economy: The use of counterfeit medicines increases unnecessary costs on public health. This is due to their unwanted side effects which leads to a host of other health complications and diseases subsequently creating a vicious circle.

4. The extra cost for resources: To tackle the issue of counterfeit government has created many regulatory bodies but, has failed to counter the problem due to lack of manpower, for more human resources increase in costs are quite evident. For instance, India’s Central Drugs Standard Organization which is the country’s drug regulator had just 233 employees in 2014. In order to increase the strength of employees will bring an extra burden on the government in the form of increased expenditures.

Counterfeiters and forgers are using new technologies to make flawless duplicate products. They do not just make the fake product look visually similar to the genuine ones but also copy their packaging and branding. This often makes it tough for retailers and consumers to identify them.

The production of counterfeits is further boosted by poor regulation and the involvement of organized criminals. However, with the development of anti-counterfeiting technology, it has become quite hard for forgers to imitate your products and sneak into your profits. Different kinds of anti-duplication technologies (overt, covert, forensic and digital) are being used nowadays to secure products and supply chains. Of late, anti-counterfeiting technology experts have combined the holographic and digital technologies together to prevent counterfeiting.

Taking a cue from the same Holostik has developed advanced security holograms and labels integrated with digital barcodes and QR codes. Holostik has emerged as an industry leader in the field of anti-counterfeiting technologies. Besides securing products against duplication the company also provides a gamut of supply chain management solutions.

Moving a step ahead in product authentication, Holostik has amalgamated the power of security holograms and QR code in a single security instrument. While security holograms are meant for physical authentication, the QR code is used for digital authentication along with a host of other IT solutions which include track& trace, inventory management, reward management, etc. The biggest advantage of this impeccable combination is that even if a counterfeiter is able to copy one technology then he will not be able to copy the other.

Holostik believes that in today’s market different anti-counterfeiting technologies are not competing but are complementary to each other. Taking a cue from this the company offers a combination of physical or holographic security and digital security which serves as the best anti-counterfeiting solution against the menace of duplication.

In India some of the most popular markets for counterfeit electronic products are Nehru Place and Ghaffar Market in New Delhi, Manish Market and Linking Road in Mumbai, Hong Kong Bazaar in Hyderabad and Kasimedu street in Chennai. In fact, tier 2 and tier 3 cities are flooded with fake and cheap grade electronic products in abundance.

According to reports, the counterfeit electronic products market is growing twice as fast as general goods. There are numerous news reports and studies which point towards the growing fake consumer electronics industry.

An article by Quartz cited a report according to which every one in three Indians has received a counterfeit on the e-commerce space. According to the report, the largest share is that of mobile and computers at 45% followed by TV and other electronic products.

There are two different types of counterfeit electronics products available in the Indian market. The first type includes a completely fake product (not manufactured by the original component manufacturer but has laser markings). The second type is known as a partial fake product (manufactured by the original component manufacturer but are remarked to show different functions). In this type, the counterfeiters use fake packaging instead of remarking the product.

To tackle the onslaught of counterfeit products in the electronic sector the Department of Electronics and Information Technology had notified ‘Electronic and IT Goods (Requirements for Compulsory Registration) order in the year 2012 under compulsory registration scheme of Bureau of Indian Standards.

The order maintains that no person shall manufacture or store for sale, import, sell or distribute goods which do not conform to the Indian Standard specified in the order. Although the order has proved to be a big milestone in curbing counterfeiting, still there are measures that need to be followed strictly to completely eradicate fake electronic products from the market.

For example, organizations must strictly use different anti-counterfeiting measures to prevent any possible form of counterfeiting or tampering. Integrated anti-counterfeiting solutions which include a security label or a hologram along with a QR code helps to track and trace the product in a supply chain. In addition, the integrated solution also helps in instant product authentication.

To know more about our anti-duplication solutions for consumer electronics call us on +91–785-785-7000 or mail us at connect@holostik.com.

Nowadays, QR codes can be seen everywhere. You can find them on the packaging of food items, consumer electronics, business cards, presentations, websites, etc. People and organizations use them to store and disseminate different kinds of information, product authentication and implementing a gamut of supply chain management solutions.

Back in 1994, in Japan, Denso Wave a subsidiary of Toyota developed the first QR code in order to track the manufacturing process of its vehicles and parts. Since it was developed to allow for fast decoding speeds and thus got the name ‘Quick Response’ code. These codes are advanced versions of the previously popular barcodes. However, QR codes have the capability of storing a large amount of information and takes a comparatively smaller area for printing.

Just like a barcode a QR code stores information in a machine-readable optical label. The data contained by a QR code can include anything right from simple text, to e-mail addresses, to phone numbers and much more. The data stored in QR codes is in the form of black dots and white spaces which is arranged in a square grid. These patterns are scanned and translated in readable information for humans with the help of an imaging device like a camera or a scanner.

Today, organizations across the world use QR codes for not just storing information but also for product authentication and tracking. In times, when counterfeiting is on the rise and has become a multibillion-dollar business securing supply chain from the threat of counterfeiters is most important.

For this, a unique QR code is assigned for every individual product and also for the product pallet. While moving through the supply chain the product is scanned at different levels which not just authenticates the product but also updates the database of the system. Through this mechanism, a manufacturer can track the location of his or her product in the supply chain. Similarly, for the end consumer, a simple QR code scan determines the genuineness of the product instantly.

Holostik provides customized QR codes integrated with security labels and holograms. This provides double-edged security to the product against any possible form of counterfeiting. Our QR codes not just help in product authentication but also provide a gamut of supply chain management solutions.

To know more about our customized QR codes and the integrated solutions call us on +91–785-785-7000 or mail us at connect@holostik.com.

Agriculture is one of the biggest industries in India which massively contributes to the GDP. It also provides employment to a large of people. However, the growth of counterfeit agro products has led to a downfall of the Indian agro-industry. For example, fake pesticides make up almost a quarter of the market exposing farmers, their crops and the environment to many harmful side effects.

The big problem with fake sub-standard, duplicate or spurious agrochemicals is that they cause more harm to the crop yield than the pests. Experts suggest that with the growth of population and subsequent rise in demand for yields there has been a massive need for agrochemicals. The Federation of India Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) expects the turnover of the Indian agrochemical industry to double to $8.1 billion by 2025.

India is an ideal market and a potential destination for agrochemicals producers. It is also a risky market where counterfeit and harmful imitations compete with original pesticides, fertilizers, and soil nutrients. Agrochemical companies whether big and small are eager to establish manufacturing hubs in India because of low processing costs and availability of cheap labour.

Despite the enormous growth large quantity of agrochemicals in the Indian market are not authentic which implies that they may be counterfeit, spurious, adulterated or sub-standard. These cheap grades are completely ineffective in destroying pests.

Let’s discuss some of the factors behind the growth of counterfeiting in the agrochemical industry in India.

1.Lack of knowledge among end-consumers/farmers: One of the biggest reasons behind the growth of fake products in the agrochemical industry is the lack of knowledge about genuine products among consumers. Illiterate farmers usually do not check the product authentication features and just go for the cheap price.

2.Rare adoption of anti-counterfeiting solutions by companies: Many agro-chemical manufacturers do not implement anti-counterfeiting solutions in their products. This makes their products highly susceptible to duplication, tampering and even diversion.

3.Lack of stringent regulatory measures: Lack of strict regulatory measures against counterfeit products and poor laws against counterfeiters has led to the rapid rise of counterfeit agro-chemical products.

In case if you are from the agro-chemical industry and want a robust anti-duplication solution for your product then you may call us on +91–785-785-7000 or drop us a mail at connect@holostik.com.

The e-commerce industry in India is facing the menace of counterfeiting. According to Local Circles, a community media platform, one in five products sold on e-commerce websites in India is fake. Another survey by market research firm Velocity MR has revealed that every one out of three online shoppers has received a fake product. However, that’s just a minor revelation and the problem is much bigger. In the present times when your favourite products are just a click away the incidents of counterfeiting have increased rapidly.

Counterfeits pose a risk to the manufacturer, e-commerce players and end-consumers. According to a reputed media house, fake products are risky for the investors and government exchequer. Fake goods don’t just impact genuine brands and investors but also the customers. A fake cosmetic can ruin the skin, a counterfeit toy can be dangerous for a child or a fancy looking apparel may cause skin allergy the list seems endless.

In order to the fight the scourge of fake products in the e-commerce industry, the Indian government has issued a draft national e-commerce policy which aims at regulating cross border data flow, prevents piracy and counterfeiting and requires all online sellers to register their business locally.

E-Commerce giants like Amazon and Alibaba have also implemented different regulatory measures for curbing the sale of counterfeits on their platforms. In a blog post, Amazon has stated, “Brands provide us with their logos, trademarks, and other key data and we can scan over 5 billion product listing updates every day, looking for suspected counterfeits.”

Product tracking, digital authentication, serialization and holography can also play an important role in preventing counterfeits and any form of tampering. A recent example is the rampant use of QR enabled holographic labels or holograms by which help in authenticating the genuineness of the product instantly.

Many e-commerce companies are also using anti-tamper packaging labels and holograms to prevent tampering and duplication. Anti-counterfeiting mechanisms have become necessary today for e-commerce companies and manufacturers in order to clamp down on counterfeiting and prevent any possible loss. In case you are willing to secure your products from counterfeiting, tampering and diversion call us on +91–785-785-7000 or drop a mail at connect@holostik.com.

The food and beverage industry is a humungous industry globally. Due to our fast-paced lifestyle and the need for processed and ready to cook food, the food and beverage industry has witnessed the massive growth in the past few years. According to the leading research agency IGD, “The value of world’s grocery market will reach a staggering $11.8 trillion by 2020”.

However, at the same time, the food industry has become the target of criminals who are selling cheap grade fake food and drinks. There have been numerous reports of seizures of fake food items and drinks from different parts of the world. One of the biggest reasons behind the rise of counterfeit food items is their massive demand. It has been observed that consumers who are not able to buy genuine food items due to their high costs tend to switch over to their copies.

Counterfeit food items are usually made of cheap grade raw materials and harmful chemicals. For making such food and beverages counterfeiters don’t follow any standards and neglect the hygiene. This makes such items harmful to the health of the consumers. There are many instances where the consumption of counterfeit food items and beverages lead to food poisoning and other ailments.

The sole purpose of counterfeiters is to make the food items look visually similar to the original product which they generally achieve by imitating the packaging and branding of original items.

Manufacturers also suffer from the impact of counterfeiting. They lose profits and consumer trust which generally takes years to build up. Moreover, manufacturers have to spend a considerable amount in fighting fakes which rarely helps. Counterfeiters operate from multiple locations and it becomes challenging for authorities to trace them in one go.

A robust and secure packaging can play an imperative role in securing the food and beverage industry from the onslaught of counterfeiting. Manufacturers are nowadays rampantly using product labels integrated with QR code and bar codes which help in instant product authentication and also track and trace the product throughout the supply chain. Some other highly popular secure packaging solutions include tamper-proof labels, security holograms, holographic shrink sleeves, and flexible packaging films.

Holostik is one of the pioneers in providing customized anti-duplication packaging solutions to the food and beverage industry. We not just provide holographic packaging solutions but also provide unique integrated offerings of digital and holographic security which together act as a double-edged sword against duplication.

With our anti-duplication solutions, the food and beverage industry can stay safe from the ill effects of counterfeiting. With our advanced track and trace solutions, manufacturers can monitor and manage their products in the supply chain. This helps them in preventing duplication, tampering, and diversion of their products. On the other hand, our holographic and digital product authentication ensures the authenticity of the product for the consumers.

If you are from the food and beverage industry and are looking out for tailormade anti-duplication and packaging solutions then call us on +91–785-785-7000 or mail us at connect@holostik.com.