According to a 2016 OECD survey, the global counterfeit goods trade was marked $509 billion a year, accounting for 3.3% of the global trade. Experts predict that counterfeit trade continues to grow and will reach $991 billion by 2022. 

While the counterfeit products continues to occur every year, a South Korean enterprise is attracting attention by producing innovative anti-counterfeiting genuine authentication security labels through excellent hologram technology. PowerKorea met RMG CEO Alicia Kim and learned the technologies. 

 

RMG develops various innovative solutions to protect the company’s valuable brands

Good news is that RMG, though small in size, is receiving explosive attention home and abroad by securing the original technology for holograms for product counterfeit prevention and authentication, and has introduced three solutions and platforms to the market: SECUTECH, SWEBS, and Sealticker. SECUTECH is a security activation hologram brand. SWEBS is a hologram-encrypted QR code, a platform that not only activates the product, but also tracks the product distribution process. Sealticker is a label brand that can check whether the product has been opened.

 

SECUTECH introduces innovative products through the original technology for hologram production

RMG is producing a variety of authentication holograms with security technology applied through its own brand SECUTECH. The hologram is equipped with the following technologies to prevent counterfeiting: ‘Kinetic Movement’ in which complex fine lines rotate according to the viewing angle to realize dynamic movement, ‘Laser Hidden’ with hidden text that can only be checked with laser points, ‘360 Degree’, where letters and phrases rotate 360 degrees, ‘2D/3D Effect’ that makes background images or text appear three-dimensional, ‘Animation’ that implements moving animation effects, and ‘Micro Text’ technology that is almost impossible to duplicate by engraving micro-characters that can only be seen with a microscope at a specific location. In addition, the ultra-high-resolution ‘nanopixel hologram’, ‘destructive hologram’, and ‘hologram with a unique serial number’ are special holograms that cannot be verified with the naked eye. As of June of last year, there are about 13,600 partners that have introduced and are using RMG’s holograms, including Ilyang Pharm, Daewoong Pharm, Amorepacific, LG Life Sciences, Chungju City, and KORAIL. They are distributed across all industries including cosmetics, home appliances, health food, pharmaceuticals, educational supplies, character supplies, fashion, and auto parts. 

 

Combination of excellent activation security hologram and encrypted QR code ‘SWEBS’

Building authenticity verification through mobile and non-replicable QR codes distribution management and customer big data 

SWEBS, another brand of RMG, is an integrated product management platform that adds a non-replicable QR code to a hologram that can confirm authenticity. The company applied for a patent for the first time in Korea for a combination of hologram technology and encrypted IT technology. SWEBS is a hologram total solution designed to easily check the authenticity of the product through mobile devices by combining a stable web authentication security system, and to enable various marketing and customer management. The hologram is equipped with a self-developed encryption program to generate a QR code that cannot be copied, enabling accurate activation service. The serial number and the authentication code hidden in the QR code are matched 1:1, and different information is displayed for each product according to the serial number. Since it is possible to trace back the authentication code given to each unit, it can be actively used for product distribution network management. 

The activation process of SWEBS also serves as a data report through data acquisition. When a consumer who purchased a product scans the QR code, the authenticated country, distribution process, and consumer information (name, gender, e-mail, contact information, address, place of purchase) are provided to the company (manufacturer or distributor). The company can build with big data and use it as information for customer analysis and various marketing. All of these processes are done legally as they go through the customer’s consent. 

 

With Sealticker, you can immediately check whether the product has been opened

Sealticker is a sticker attached to product packaging or documents for security maintenance or sealing. 

When a consumer or a seller removes the seal sticker attached to the product, traces such as a plagiarism remain on the product, allowing immediate confirmation of whether the product has been opened. 

Sealticker has focused on the B2B market so far, but plans to further expand its business into the B2C market in the future. Currently, Sealticker are being used by various government agencies such as the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the Korea Environment Corporation, the Transportation Safety Authority, the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, the Lottery Commission, and Samsung Electronics, as well as the military and large corporations. In the future, the company plans to develop products with various texts and images to expand its sales outlets to general consumers and online shopping malls who need a small amount.

 

▲ RMG / CEO Alicia Kim

RMG’ will grow into a global company and introduce innovative products for all brands in the world

RMG plans to use its success in the domestic market as a stepping stone to further spur the development of overseas markets. To this end, the company participated in the Mobile World Congress (MWC) exhibition held in Barcelona, Spain in February and Las Vegas CES in the US. The company also plans to participate in Dubai GITEX in UAE. In addition, the company plans to more aggressively promote and market to local buyers in Germany, the United States, Latin America, and Africa where exports are already being made. RMG has already established a joint venture with a partner in the United States, and is planning to target the North American market in earnest through this. CEO Alicia Kim 

presented a blueprint by saying “The authentication hologram market continues to grow. In the future, an era will come when a genuine product authentication security hologram is essential to protect a company’s brand and increase its value. The company aims to grow into a global company through overseas expansion and to allow all companies in the world to use the products of ‘RMG’.”

신태섭 기자  tss79@naver.com