Discover your next big idea at PACK EXPO Las Vegas this September
Experience a breakthrough in packaging & processing and transform your business with solutions from 2,300 suppliers spanning all industries.
REGISTER NOW & SAVE

NFC tags on skincare cartons offer a win-win

Polish skincare company Alba1913 adds NFC tags to product cartons to deter counterfeiting, gather consumer data, and provide consumers with additional content through a mobile app.

For the Alba1913 application, the tags, encoded by Talkin’ Things, are applied inside the secondary carton.
For the Alba1913 application, the tags, encoded by Talkin’ Things, are applied inside the secondary carton.

A company with a philosophy of “blending modern science with traditional wisdom,” according to its CEO Lukasz Rychlicki, 100-plus-year-old, family-owned skincare company Alba1913 of Suchy Las, Poland, has added electronic Near Field Communication tags to its product cartons.

Alba1913 approached NFC supplier Talkin’ Things in early 2015 to explore how the technology could be used both for its own, as well as its customers’ benefit. “Our idea was to understand where, how often, and by how many users products are scanned,” says Rychlicki. “In addition, we envisioned the opportunity to set expiry date alerts and for our customers to access additional content through our mobile app.”

Ranging in price from $16 to $74 (in the U.S.), Alba1913’s natural skin and body-care products have just been recently relaunched, reverting back to the legacy of the traditional products and herbal remedies produced by the company back in the 1920s to 1940s. “Our products are inspired by these old formulations and blend modern science with herbal, monastic traditions,” Rychlicki says.

Alba1913’s products are sold in markets around the world. In 2015, as the company got ready to expand its brand into Asia, it also viewed NFC as the best technology to deter counterfeiting.

NFC technology, part of the RFID family, enables contactless communication between devices like smartphones or tablets. The radio-frequency tags can be programmed and encrypted with a security system so that each one is unique, making them ideal for brand protection. Talkin’ Things says it offers the first smart packaging system to integrate both iPhone and Android users. While NFC has been available with Android devices since 2007, it was not until September of 2017, with the introduction of the iPhone 7, that it was offered with iPhone.

Break out of the ordinary: see what’s new in packaging & processing!
At PACK EXPO Las Vegas, you’ll see machinery in action and new tech from 2,300 suppliers, collaborate with experts and explore transformative solutions. Join us this September to experience a breakthrough in packaging and processing.
REGISTER NOW AND SAVE
Break out of the ordinary: see what’s new in packaging & processing!
Annual Outlook Report: Automation & Robotics
What's in store for CPGs in 2025 and beyond? <i>Packaging World</i> editors explore the survey responses from 118 brand owners, CPG, and FMCG <i>Packaging World</i> readers for its new Annual Outlook Report.
Download
Annual Outlook Report: Automation & Robotics