Case Study: Global Tobacco Company reduces counterfeit cigarettes with Digimarc

Global Tobacco Company cuts counterfeit cigarettes nearly 10% with Digimarc

In this case study, the customer is a global tobacco company facing a significant counterfeit problem. Prior to partnering with Digimarc, counterfeit cigarettes made up nearly 10% of regional sales, resulting in an estimated loss of over $60 million, declining consumer confidence, and lost tax revenue. The challenge was to protect their market from dangerous fake products flooding the market.

The global tobacco company partnered with Digimarc, which implemented a covert digital watermarking solution for nearly 2 billion product units per year. Through Digimarc's technology, each product could now be fully authenticated, allowing consumers to verify legitimacy with a mobile app. The solution also provided geolocation data to track illegal sales, which significantly reduced the volume of counterfeit products.