AlpVision in China – The experience of a new market

One year ago, in October 2015, AlpVision set up its new offices in Shanghai with the intent to expand the brand protection business. Compared to our marketing experience in Western countries, we have been happily surprised by the immediate brand owner interest in new authentication solutions. Indeed, few solutions are currently available in China. Only holograms and QR-codes have been deployed at a large scale and they are not secure: the former is generally copied within a few months after roll-out while the latter does not provide any kind of security against copying. Other alternatives are simply too expensive for the Chinese market. Fortunately, our 3 technologies Cryptoglyph, Fingerprint and Smart Embossing cost even less than holograms while providing a much higher level of security. The traction in the market has therefore been impressive in all sectors: spirits, nutrition, lubricants, cosmetics, tobacco, etc. This commercial success was recognized by the president of the Swiss Confederation, Johann Schneider-Ammann, who visited our offices in Shanghai in March 2016. Two months later AlpVision was even invited to present at the World Economic Forum in Tianjin. At this point, we are therefore confident that our solutions will play an active role in supplying Chinese brand owners with effective means to protecttheir products and customers against counterfeiting.