The National Office of Vine and Vitivinicultural Products (ONVPV) in Romania is using the latest in holographic labels from specialist security printer Eltronis to promote the provenance of its regional wines and protect drinkers from counterfeit products.

ONVPV oversees national vineyard management and winemaking in Romania. Meeting demand from consumers for quality products, the new holographic labels provide a clear brand identity for ONVPV, which is easily recognisable on labelled bottles and products within a retail environment.

This easily identifiable and visually pleasing holographic brand design is combined with high-level security, including a unique code and serial number that enables verification online and via smartphones.

The holographic label has a unique QR code, which is inkjet printed and UV cured with LED by Eltronis. This personalises the label to each wine bottle and manufacturer, and links through to the online information and verification process. Consumers scan the QR code to access to a wide variety of information on the wine’s pedigree and production, as well as confirming that it is genuine. If the scanned label contains an invalid or duplicate code, the ONVPV is automatically alerted. 

Dorin Ştefan Duşa, general manager at ONVPV, said, ‘Holographic markings that certify the origin and authenticity of wine are an important part in our efforts to promote our producers and a very effective tool against counterfeiters.

‘With our latest label design, consumers can interact much more easily via their smartphones, giving them access to the latest information on their wines. This has proved very popular and already led to the annual volume used by winemakers more than doubling – and we expect this upward trend to continue.’

Across the world, wine fraud is becoming increasingly prevalent with online sales making it easy for fraudsters to trick consumers and replace genuine wines with fakes. By adding a holographic label to wine bottles, ONVPV is helping to counter this trend and promoting the provenance of the region, and building protection against potential counterfeiting.

The holographic design contains multiple security features, making it impossible to reproduce, while the label material allows it to be applied to a variety of different substrates. With high thermal, mechanical and chemical resistance the label cannot be removed without damaging it, thus making it impossible to reuse on other products. In addition, a special sub-surface printing technique is used for the variable data, making the label both more durable and extremely resistant to potential alteration.

Pete Smallwood, business development manager at Eltronis, said, ‘The use of holograms to identify and protect products of geographic importance is well known due to their highly visual effect and instant recognition by consumers.

‘With the addition of the QR code and latest holographic features not only are they delivering greater brand impact on shelf, their security has been taken to another level with this new design, combining the best of physical and digital protection.

‘It is great to see ONVPV continually invest in its security technologies in order to promote products from the region, and take a clear stand against fraud.’

Read an update on the latest trends and digital technologies related to the wines and spirits market in the November/December 2020 issue of Digital Labels & Packaging; register here to receive the magazine, for free