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Thinfilm and Tapì partner on ‘smart’ closures for spirits

Near-field communications (NFC) specialist Thinfilm has entered into a “strategic partnership” with Italian closures producer Tapì Group to tackle  “rampant” counterfeiting in spirits.

Thinfilm and Tapi have partnered to address the “rampant worldwide counterfeiting problem plaguing their spirits customers”

The exclusive joint partnership will see Tapì and California-based Thinfilm combine their “innovation capabilities to better serve the needs of the wine and spirits industry”. The partnership will cover both tag types and use cases.

“We are thrilled to be joining Tapì in addressing the rampant worldwide counterfeiting problem plaguing their spirits customers, as well as giving brands’ empowered consumers unique and engaging experiences,” said Kevin Barber, chief executive officer of Thinfilm.

“Many brands are looking for new insights in order to move from indirect, transactional engagement to direct, long-term relationships with their consumers, as well as improvements to their packaging that will make the products more attractive and safer.”

The collaboration will create “cost-effective” closure solutions to ensure brand protection. The two firms have started developing NFC-enabled Open Sense closures, which detect when a closure seal has been broken and alerts the consumer that the bottle may have been tampered with.

A second closure type, based on the Thinfilm Speed Tap tag, has been designed to “allow brands to open a direct channel to customers for delivering real-time experiences”.

The companies are working with premium brands to combine NFC-integrated closures into their production lines with minimum disruption. A range of integrated smart closures for the premium spirits market will be released “over the coming months” across a number of styles, designs and protection requirements.

Currently the total global addressable spirits market is estimated to be 65 billion bottles annually.

Tapì Group CEO Roberto Casini said: “We are excited to offer cutting-edge IoT (internet of things) technology in the beverage sector, which will protect and enhance our customers’ products on several fronts.

“Counterfeit products not only cause worldwide losses in the sector, but they are a big health problem.

“In addition, brands are also now looking for new ways to interact with their consumers. These cleverly integrated smart closures can help our customers track and protect their products while at the same time strengthening their reputations on the market by increasing engagement with consumers.”

For an in-depth analysis of the counterfeit spirits market, click here. 

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