Anti-counterfeit technology arms Australian wine exporters against global fraud

26 Jun 2020 --- An Australian-developed technology suite called eBottli has launched with the potential to defend the wine export industry against the booming global trade in counterfeit wines. eBottli delivers a suite of new tracking and blockchain data technologies, geolocating services for bottles or containers, and unique identifier labels for winemakers. Developed with the support of the South Australian Government, eBottli helps guarantee a wine’s authenticity and helps address the issue of brand trust for Australian exports – a huge issue in markets such as Asia.

Currently, Australia’s wine exports to China alone are valued at US$860 million according to some estimates but counterfeits are an even bigger business. Potential losses to the global industry due to counterfeits could reach an estimated US$3 trillion by 2022. In China alone, some experts claim around 50 percent of wine over US$24 is fake while up to 70 percent of bottles sold are fraudulent. This is a major problem for Australian wine exporters, who are already reeling from bushfires, drought and the threat of a post-COVID trade war with China.

Founded by French-born, Adelaide-based Nathalie Taquet, eBottli is working with 12 clients across Australia, including vineyards in the quality wine regions of McLaren Vale and the Barossa Valley in South Australia. Premium artisan wine labels are particularly vulnerable to export fraud, Taquet highlights.eBottli is working with several prominent Australian wine exporters.

“It’s quite unbelievable the extent that wine counterfeiters will go to,” Taquet says. “Some will simply replace valuable wine with cheap substitutes in the bottle, with fake labels. They also add juice, and spices for added flavor. Other dodgy bottles contain no grapes at all, and even have harmful substances added – such as lead acetate, which is a sweetener.”

“Due to Australia's close proximity to Asia, and the well-deserved reputation of its produce, Australian food and wine are often counterfeited. As wine lovers, we wanted to help quality wineries find a secure global market, defended against the scourge of counterfeiting. That's why we decided to found eBottli – there's tremendous opportunity here and we were given hands-on support by the South Australian government,” Taquet tells PackagingInsights.

Advanced anti-counterfeit technology
There are several anti-counterfeit technologies available to the Australian wine industry but eBottli is the most comprehensive, Taquet notes. “[eBottli] uses multiple tracking and geolocating technologies, is ready to use, has its own secure app and is reliable and low-cost compared to others.”

“We utilize and combine several different kinds of technology, according to the level of security and requirements. Right now we are working with RFID/NFC, QR Code and Image Recognition, all of which can be integrated within the label, the cap or other specific locations,” she explains.

eBottli technology helps guarantee a wine’s authenticity.The company’s SaaS platform uses communication standards that allow new partners to be plugged in seamlessly, delivering flexibility and easy integration and increasing analytical reliability. All received data is empirically analyzed to procure appropriate answers and output. Moreover, everything is traced with a digital ledger to avoid data manipulation, generating customer confidence and trust. Also, given eBottli's solutions are cloud-based, the company has the scalability and availability to provide its services worldwide.

B2C differentiator
eBottli technology also allows wine drinkers to connect with the vineyard and experience the story of how the bottle came to be in front of them. “Our ultimate plan is to have wine bottles arrive to the customer overseas, and then they can use their smartphones to scan the label and read its Australian story of origin,” Taquet explains.

“We can provide the end user with labels and mobile applications that create a unique and educational experience. As well as enjoying the drop they're drinking, wine lovers can learn more about the winemaker, the region and appropriate tasting notes through the magic of Augmented Reality.”

Taquet envisages using technology as a major point of difference for her B2C business – the online wine club Bottli – which specializes in premium and luxury French and Australian wines. 

Headquartered in the key wine region of South Australia, Bottli launched last year and has already built a loyal wine-loving customer base. “We are predominantly working with Australian companies but ultimately the goal is to go global. We would like to share our technology, skills and savoir-faire with an international audience,” Taquet tells PackagingInsights.eBottli also allows wine drinkers to connect with the vineyard's backstory.

Solution for the entire supply chain
eBottli’s solutions cover different parts of the wine supply chain by providing secured connected tools, namely scanners for the different technologies, systems integrated into the logistics chain, geolocation and temperature sensors for bottlers, winemakers and consumers.

For example, during storage, eBottli tracks wine barrels with its devices and smart labels, which are linked to its SaaS platform and/or the winemaker's information system. During bottling, the technology can track each bottle unicity or lots.

During the shipment, the technology can track and follow the geolocation, the temperature and movements in real time using Sigfox, LoRa or satellites. At the point of sale, eBottli can provide other devices to ensure and control stock quantity and orders.

By Joshua Poole