As counterfeiting, grey market activity and return fraud become increasingly sophisticated, packaging is evolving beyond protection and branding to become a vital tool for authentication and trust. In this exclusive interview with Sustainable Packaging News, Ashley Burkle, Director of Sales & Business Development at Identiv, explains how connected packaging and NFC technology are helping brands verify products, improve traceability and build stronger consumer confidence.
- For years, brands focused on making packaging more sustainable, more attractive and more functional. Are we now entering an era where proving authenticity and building trust become just as important as protecting the product itself?
I think we're seeing packaging take on a much greater role than it had even five years ago. It still needs to protect the product, support sustainability goals and reflect the brand, but now it's also becoming a gateway to trusted product information.
That’s happening because products are moving through increasingly complex supply chains, where counterfeiting, diversion and unauthorized resale have become growing concerns for brands. Companies need better ways to verify products at the item level and protect their market share while maintaining control over the customer experience.
Packaging is one of the few things that stays with a product throughout that entire journey, and by embedding technologies such as Near Field Communication (NFC) directly into labels or packaging, brands can give every product its own secure digital identity, turning the package into an ongoing source of trusted information rather than simply something that’s discarded after purchase.
- Packaging has traditionally been designed to protect products and attract consumers. Why are brands increasingly viewing authentication as packaging's third essential function?
Because protecting a product physically doesn't necessarily tell you everything about its journey.
A package can arrive looking exactly as intended but still have been diverted into an unauthorized market, opened and refilled, or even replaced with a counterfeit. Those kinds of challenges have become more common, especially as supply chains have grown more complex and products move through a wider range of sales channels.
Authentication extends the role of packaging beyond manufacturing. Instead of only protecting what's inside, packaging can help verify that a specific item is genuine, indicate whether it has been tampered with, and give everyone – from distributors and retailers to consumers – greater confidence that they're interacting with the intended product.
Counterfeiting, return fraud and grey market activity continue to evolve. Which of these challenges is creating the greatest urgency for brands to rethink packaging as a trust and verification tool?
All three are creating pressure, but the greatest urgency comes from the way these risks now overlap. Counterfeiting, return fraud, and grey market activity are no longer isolated problems. They often move through the same fragmented channels, exploit the same visibility gaps, and create the same outcome: brands lose control over the product experience.
Counterfeiting is often the most visible threat because it can directly undermine consumer safety, brand reputation, and revenue. But return fraud and unauthorized resale can be just as damaging because they’re harder to identify at the item level. A product may be genuine but diverted, opened, refilled, mishandled, or resold outside its intended market, leaving brands to absorb the consequences through warranty claims, customer support issues, or negative reviews.
The common thread is that companies need better visibility at the item level; not just into shipments or inventory, but into individual products. That's where connected packaging delivers the greatest value.
You've described packaging as becoming an authentication layer rather than just a container. How does that shift change the way brands think about packaging investment and strategy?
One thing we've noticed is that connected packaging changes who becomes involved in the conversation.
Historically, packaging decisions were largely owned by packaging and manufacturing teams. Today, those discussions include supply chain leaders, brand protection, sustainability teams, marketing and customer experience because everyone benefits from the same product-level data.
Instead of thinking about packaging as a single-purpose cost, companies are starting to view it as infrastructure that supports multiple business functions. The same connected package can help authenticate products, simplify recalls, improve traceability, automate consumable refill processes, support Digital Product Passports (DPPs) and create new ways for brands to engage directly with consumers.
What makes NFC-enabled packaging particularly effective for authentication, and how does item-level verification differ from more traditional anti-counterfeiting approaches?
The biggest difference is that NFC authenticates the product or product container itself, not just the outer packaging around it. That's exactly what we designed our ID-Safe portfolio to do. ID-Safe is a family of NFC-enabled tags that gives every individual product its own secure digital identity, allowing brands, retailers and consumers to verify authenticity with a simple smartphone tap. Depending on the application, those tags can also indicate whether a product has been opened, tampered with or removed from its original container.
Traditional security features like holograms, specialty inks or printed seals still have their place, but they're largely based on visual inspection and can become easier to replicate over time. NFC adds a secure digital layer that’s tied to the individual product container or the outside packaging that makes the most sense for that application. For a replacement filter or consumable cartridge, that may be the cartridge itself. For a luxury cosmetic or pharmaceutical product, it may be the primary product container. With both tamper-evident and tamper-proof configurations, ID-Safe gives brands the flexibility to choose the level of protection that’s right for their product while creating a trusted digital connection that extends well beyond the point of sale.
Consumers increasingly expect brands to provide greater transparency around product origin, authenticity and handling. How is this changing the information brands need to deliver through their packaging?
Consumers today seek proof, not just promises. Whether it's where a product was made, how it was sourced or whether it's authentic, people expect brands to back up those claims with information that's easy to access and specific to the product they're holding.
Connected packaging makes that possible. Instead of directing consumers to a generic webpage, brands can provide product-specific information like authenticity, care instructions, warranty details, reordering, sourcing information or sustainability credentials with a simple tap.
In tandem, we're seeing industry and regulatory initiatives place greater emphasis on product transparency throughout the entire lifecycle. Digital Product Passports are a good example of that – they're designed to give products a persistent digital record containing information about their origin, materials, repairability and environmental impact. Connected packaging provides a practical way to link consumers and supply chain partners to that trusted information, making the package itself the gateway to a product's digital identity.
Beyond combating counterfeits, how can connected packaging help brands strengthen consumer trust and engagement throughout the product lifecycle?
This is actually one of the most exciting parts of connected packaging because authentication is just the beginning.
Once a product has a secure digital identity, brands can continue delivering value long after the purchase. A customer might register a warranty, receive care instructions, access exclusive content, reorder consumables or even learn how to recycle the product properly all through the same interaction.
This cultivates an ongoing relationship for brands, which is much more meaningful compared to a one-time transaction. Every interaction helps companies better understand how products move through the market and how customers engage with them over time.
Which industries are leading the adoption of connected and tamper-evident packaging, and what lessons can other sectors learn from their experiences?
Luxury goods, pharmaceuticals, beauty and premium food and beverage have certainly been early adopters because authenticity has a direct impact on consumer confidence. For categories like pharmaceuticals and food and beverage, that often extends to condition monitoring as well – technologies like Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) can track location and temperature in transit, which matters when a product's safety or efficacy depends on how it was handled along the way.
But one lesson we've learned is that implementation matters just as much as the technology itself. Every packaging format presents different engineering challenges. A tag that performs perfectly on cardboard won't necessarily work on glass, metal or a curved cosmetic container. That's why we spend so much time collaborating with brands early in the design process to develop solutions that fit naturally within the packaging without compromising aesthetics, manufacturing efficiency or the overall consumer experience.
That need for flexibility is exactly why we've continued expanding our portfolio with solutions like ID-Tiny, which was designed for products where space is extremely limited but secure digital intelligence is still essential. Whether it's a pharmaceutical device, luxury cosmetic or other compact product, the goal is the same: integrate the technology in a way that feels seamless to both manufacturers and consumers.
I think that's the overall takeaway for any industry exploring connected packaging. The technology is most effective when it's designed around the product – not the other way around. When it's integrated thoughtfully, brands don't have to choose between aesthetics, functionality and security – they can achieve all three.
What are the biggest misconceptions brands still have about implementing authentication technologies, and how are those perceptions changing?
One of the biggest misconceptions is that authentication is difficult to integrate into existing packaging operations. In reality, today's technologies can be adapted to a wide range of packaging formats and product categories. At Identiv, we work closely with brands to tailor solutions around their packaging, manufacturing processes and performance requirements, making implementation much more practical than many companies expect.
Another misconception is that authentication is only relevant for luxury goods or highly regulated industries. While those sectors were early adopters, any brand looking to improve product traceability, reduce diversion or provide greater transparency can benefit from item-level product identification.
As more brands explore connected packaging, they're beginning to see authentication as more than an anti-counterfeiting measure. It's becoming a way to improve supply chain visibility, support post-purchase engagement and create smarter, better-connected product experiences.
As regulators, retailers and consumers place greater emphasis on traceability, do you see product authentication becoming a standard packaging requirement rather than a premium feature?
I do, because the expectations are coming from every direction. Consumers want more transparency. Retailers want greater confidence that the products they receive and sell are authentic, protecting both their own reputation and the brands they carry. At the same time, regulations like the DPP initiative are encouraging companies to think differently about product data and traceability.
Taken together, those trends are moving authentication from a competitive differentiator toward a foundational capability. Brands won't just be expected to say a product is authentic or sustainably sourced; they'll be expected to demonstrate it.
Looking ahead five years, how do you expect connected packaging to evolve? Will consumers come to expect every product to have a simple way to verify authenticity and access trusted product information?
I think we'll eventually reach a point where consumers expect every product to have a simple way to verify authenticity and access trusted information. Just like tapping a phone to make a payment feels routine today, tapping a product to learn where it came from, register ownership or access care and recycling information will become second nature.
For brands, that shift is about much more than the consumer experience. It's about giving every product a trusted digital identity that supports greater transparency, traceability and engagement throughout its lifecycle. I think that's where the biggest opportunity lies over the next several years, as packaging continues to evolve from something that simply protects a product to something that helps tell its story.