tesa BevSeal: a new solution for protection against counterfeiting and refilling of original bottles

For connoisseurs, exclusive wines and spirits are a treat for the palate and usually a financial investment, too. It therefore causes great upset when counterfeiters fill the bottles with a cheap blend rather than the expensive original product – not to mention the damage it causes to the image of vineyards and distilleries. The new brand protection solution tesa BevSeal, specifically developed for the wine and spirits industry, reliably protects against the refilling of original bottles, bottle counterfeiting and grey-market trading. Tesa scribos will present the new product for the first time at Wine Track in the French town of Beaune on 13 March.

Tesa scribos combines several leading protection technologies in the new brand protection solution tesa BevSeal. The adhesive seal, tesa security seal, is applied to the neck of the bottle in such a way as to make it difficult for sealing caps to be removed and original bottles refilled. It connects the neck seal to the bottle, meaning it cannot be removed either by applying hot or cold temperatures. When it is opened, the security seal is destroyed so retailers and consumers can see at a glance if the bottle has been tampered with.

Thanks to the coding (a sequence of numbers and letters), which is specific to each individual item, the security seal is also unique. The coding is repeated on the seal on multiple verification levels, both visible and concealed. The security labels, tesa PrioSpot or tesa VeoMark, are different from easy-to-copy features freely available on the market, such as embossed holograms or printed paper labels: a unique laser lithography process provides maximum protection against tampering and counterfeiting. Tesa scribos has developed this proprietary and anti-counterfeiting labelling technology itself and is continually extending its technological lead.

Checking authenticity with a smartphone

Another component of tesa BevSeal is the tesa dtect App: in order to distinguish original drinks quickly and unmistakeably from counterfeit products, suppliers of branded wines and spirits can integrate the functions of the tesa dtect App into their own brand app. The mobile application simplifies the process of authenticity verification for consumers, retailers and customs officials. The QR-code reader in the tesa app scans the tesa PrioSpot or tesa VeoMark security code and transmits it securely to a database. The database then interactively checks the code and explains to the user how to easily distinguish originals from counterfeits based on the security label.

Finally, tesa BevSeal also offers effective protection against the grey-market trading of fine wines. With tesa trust & trace, it is possible to trace the journey of an original bottle along the supply chain by means of physically secure, item-specific coding and integration in track & trace systems. This not only prevents the trade of branded products through unofficial distribution channels, it also serves to collect evidence for breach of contract in the event of a claim.

A tailor-made solution to meet customer requirements

Because every premium spirit is unique and is manufactured under highly specialised conditions, tesa scribos individually customises the tesa BevSeal protection solution. Irrespective of whether the manufacturer wants a particularly striking feature that immediately catches a customer's eye, whether he wants to apply the label with or without a sealing function and to have a logical connection between the features on the seal and the bottle: the brand protection expert combines various seals and security features according to requirements.

Visitors to Wine Track, a scientific symposium on new technologies for the identification and authentication of wines and spirits, can see this new solution in action first-hand on 13 March in Beaune. In France, the Bordeaux & Bordeaux Supérieur Winemakers’ Association as well as the Saint-Emilion Wine Council use counterfeit protection solutions from tesa scribos and recommend them to their members.