Case Study: Leading International Tobacco Brand protects consumers and slashes counterfeit sales with Digimarc digital watermarking

Leading International Tobacco Brand - Customer Case Study

Digimarc partnered with an international tobacco brand that was losing nearly 10% of regional sales to counterfeit cigarettes—an issue that cost an estimated $60M+ in lost revenue, threatened consumer safety, and eroded confidence and local tax income. The brand needed a scalable way to authenticate products and curb the influx of dangerous fakes.

By embedding covert Digimarc digital watermarks on nearly 2 billion units per year, the company enabled consumer mobile authentication and captured geolocation data to pinpoint illegal sales. The solution significantly reduced counterfeit volume, restored consumer trust in genuine products, and helped recapture lost sales and tax revenue.