Heat shrink labels with integrated holograms to help wine & spirit industry

23-Aug-07

The new Holosleeve for wine and spirits bottles using three cutting-edge technologies has been introduced by Sleever International. The Holosleeve is heat-shrink labels with integrated holograms will help the wine and spirits industry to counter counterfeiting and forgery. Besides being of particular use in the wine and spirits industry, the technology could find application in the perfume, cosmetics and pharmaceutical sectors. Holosleeve is shrink-wrapped and embossed with a 3D motif, giving each bottle a unique pattern. Every label features a hologram that is destroyed once the consumer opens the bottle, resulting in a multi-technology innovative solution adapted to each customer and each product. This makes the product practically inimitable, not only to effectively fight against forgeries and substitutions, but also grey markets because of the possibility of integrating traceable tags. As per studies by Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), alcohol and beverages are among the most counterfeited articles in the world trade. As per a study by OECD, counterfeit and pirated goods across national borders may have amounted to US$200bn (€148bn) in 2005. Interestingly, actual levels could surpass the reported figures by several hundred billion dollars, when factors not covered by the study are taken into consideration. These factors include domestically produced and consumed counterfeit products, and pirated goods transmitted over the Internet. In 2006, the amount of counterfeit food and drink products seized at the EU's borders decreased by 77% as per European Commission figures, indicating that the problem is diminishing in Europe. In terms of overall quantities of all food and non-food items seized, China accounts for 80% of all articles seized at the EU's borders. This new technology will greatly benefit the food and beverage industry that is on a constant vigil for new forms of packaging to ensure that consumers and customs can check for authenticity, as counterfeiting can undermine the public's trust in the safety of a branded product.