Covectra, a provider of track and trace solutions, has launched the next generation of StellaGuard, a smart label and mobile authentication solution that will enable brand managers and consumers for the first time to easily and more accurately identify, authenticate, and track genuine products and combat counterfeiting. Today’s top brands—from clothing, handbags, shoes, cosmetics, liquor, and sporting goods to consumer electronics, automotive spare parts, and pharmaceuticals—can now rely on StellaGuard’s highly secure, cloud-based mobile authentication solution to protect buyers, identify illicit sellers, provide universal brand protection, and strengthen track and tracing capabilities throughout the supply chain. The new version of StellaGuard includes enhancements, including the combination of two methods of authentication simultaneously—serialization and the use of random numbers and holographic star patterns to provide a virtually impossible label to counterfeit.
 
In today’s retail and e-commerce environment, the problem of fraud and counterfeit products continues to grow, impacting the bottom line and brand integrity for legitimate retailers and posing a health and safety hazard with potentially dangerous consequences to consumers. With third-party merchants popping up exponentially, existing security product labels either require specialized reading devices or lack the ability for manufacturers to comprehensively trace their products through the supply chain to the consumer.
 
“Today’s global brands are scrambling to step up their efforts in cracking down on the number of counterfeited products streaming into the supply chain every day,” said Steve Wood, chief executive officer, Covectra. “Our StellaGuard smart label and mobile authentication solution provides a new weapon for enhanced counterfeit detection and prevention and, when combined with our AuthentiTrack solution, will provide a comprehensive track and trace program which can be scaled to any operation.”   
 
Brands can now serialize their products with Covectra’s unique StellaGuard smart label. The new label provides a dual layer of protection with a unique, patented, non-reproducible film that combines a serialized QR barcode with a 3D image of holographic “stars” embedded in a random, non-repeatable pattern, distributed at varying depths and positions inside the label.
 
With StellaGuard, brand managers can now quickly identify and analyze scans that their consumers have taken.
 
Using any smartphone, consumers simply scan the product’s barcode using the free StellaGuard mobile app and verify the product’s authenticity within seconds. This solution eliminates the need for a special device, making it easily accessible to consumers, field inspectors, supply chain, and custom officers. The StellaGuard packaging line cameras capture the star pattern on the label and stores it in the AuthentiTrack Cloud.