Companies need to pay special attention to brand security and authentication when designing new products. This can be done by ensuring product and packaging differentiation. Merck India’s performance materials division, helps manufacturers with brand protection concepts and security solutions thereby reducing health hazards and also increasing safety of consumers.
The customised solutions include:
- Overt solutions: The visible visual effect of interference or colour changing pigments that helps the consumer distinguish between genuine and imitation packaging without the use of a verification device
- Covert solutions: Decorative or security pigments combined with additives which are recognizable only with technical means. Examples include taggants that become visible in infrared light.
- Forensic solutions: Product protection of higher risk value products helps to prevent terrorism, forgery and lawsuits. Merck’s decorative and security pigments can be combined with special additives that can only be consistently identified and authenticated via high-tech analytical methods.
There are two products from Merck’s sizeable portfolio, which are used in offering customised anti-counterfeiting solutions:
Securalic security concepts help in making counterfeiting of consumer and industrial goods next to impossible with conventional tools and methods. They can be easily integrated into an existing product design and cost-efficiently incorporated into an established fabrication procedure for printing and plastic manufacturing.
Candurin is a pearl effect pigment especially for the pharmaceutical industry in India. Following a sophisticated manufacturing process, these colorants are coated on thin, natural and semi-transparent silicate platelets. This new physical structure gives rise to the unique optical properties that are innovative and eye-catching.
These solutions also assist manufacturers and customers in:
- Brand recognition: Innovative pearl effects enhance brand identity and differentiation; thereby increasing customer recognition.
- Medication error reduction: The unique variety of diverse colour effects aids multi-medication patients in distinguishing between different drugs.
Merck can create, for every brand protection programme, an individual security solution whose specific elements are revealed only to the respective manufacturer.
Siddhartha Sengupta, Regional Sales Director Asia (Decoratives) said, “Defending your brand’s equity assumes greater prominence in today’s day and age. Anti-counterfeiting solutions not only guard a brand but also protect the financial health of the business. Merck recognises this and offers customised solutions across various verticals that aid unique identification and product differentiation. We believe that rather than being a victim of piracy, you could be part of the solution.”
EP News Bureau – Mumbai
