Security and industry supply chain controls are a real, tangible concern for the tobacco industry. It’s not just theft or diversion of products in the supply chain. The trade in counterfeit cigarettes is a growing global problem. According to Euromonitor a total of 500 billion illicit cigarettes were sold in 2014 accounting for 8.1% of the total global trade.
Distorting legitimate markets doesn’t just illicit traffic in cigarettes, harming the interests of cigarette manufacturers and their stakeholders. It also damages market share for genuine brands while the inferior quality can significantly tarnish brand perceptions.
We work with some of the biggest names in the tobacco industry, from smaller boutique brands to multinationals, offering a combination of cutting-edge technology, a rigorous code of conduct (Essentra follows the policy not to trade with organisations engaged in the counterfeit cigarette market) and more than 30 years’ security experience to protect their products and reputations. We will work in full confidentiality with you to draw up strategies to protect your products wherever you market them.
We have different levels and types of security depending on the potential risk and method of tampering and counterfeiting. Our expertise and experience will help you find the right combination of solutions so you can be assured of the highest protection for your brands and consumers. Our techniques don’t always have to be functional, they are designed to complement packaging to enhance brand, promotions and effects.
Explore our security solutions and their features using the panels below. You can use the filter to find the right level of security for your brands and consumers.
Overt
Security Level: 0.5
Peeling or removing the label will leave tell-tale signs on the pack to show it has been opened
Overt
Security Level: 0.5
Decorative holographic effect that can be applied to packaging which can be used to add stand out on shelf appeal and extra layer of complexity.
Overt
Security Level: 1.5
Special effect inks such as glitters and true pearlescent inks provide an eye-catching decorative effect and a basic level of authentication.
Overt
Security Level: 2
Provides clear evidence of tampering by leaving behind a decorative holographic effect that is not visible until the label has been removed.
Overt/Covert
Security Level: 3
Covert
Security Level: 3
Covert security inks only visible under UV light. The technology can also provide increased levels of security by using more sophisticated detectors and more bespoke inks. For example, bifluorescent inks UV inks are available that only respond with different colours when exposed to specific frequencies of UV light.
Overt
Security Level: 3
Security seals are mechanisms used to seal containers in a way that provides tamper evidence, detects theft or contamination, or unauthorised opening and entry. Essentra’s wide range of security seals are designed to meet the growing need for logistics security by providing physical tamper evidence and controlling accountability and inventory of stock. Security seals can be etched with a serialisation number for tracking and feature additional security layers such as Patron® Taggant for added authenticity.
Overt/Covert
Security Level: 4
Fine line print effect generated by specialist software where designs can be raised or inverted.
Overt/Covert
Security Level: 4
Complex patterns plotted according to mathematical principles that are extremely difficult to counterfeit. Generated using specialist software. We also have the capability of producing unique guilloches tailor-made for individual customers. They can be applied to a design in vertical, horizontal, circular and elliptical forms. They can also have variable lines formulas to add complexity.
Overt/Covert
Security Level: 4.5
Miniscule characters or images that cannot be seen by the naked eye and can therefore be hidden within larger overt images.
Overt
Security Level: 5
High-level overt authentication solution colourshift inks appear as two or more distinct colours when viewed from different angles. Essentra offer both high-security and lower-cost decorative effect colourshift solutions.
Overt/Covert
Security Level: 5.5
Holographic products provide excellent public recognition features that complement and enhance brand security. Holographic technologies provide a wide range of finishes including fully metallised, de-metallised and high refractive index (HRI) transparent effects. Easily identifiable, holograms are primarily used as first-level authentication and are designed to enable successful verification at point of inspection.
Covert/Forensic
Security Level: 6
For truly covert, trained user verification. This lock and key system does not produce a visible response when illuminated with UV or IR frequencies and can only be detected specific devices such as the Patron Taggant Readers. Successful implementations of the system have been completed in a wide variety of products including labels, tapes, injection-moulded plastics and applications to metal substrates.