Tokyo – January 14, 2025 – TOPPAN Digital Inc. (TOPPAN Digital), a TOPPAN Group company and wholly owned subsidiary of TOPPAN Holdings Inc. (TYO: 7911), will participate in Paris Packaging Week 2025, one of Europe’s largest international events for luxury packaging, which will be held in Paris on January 28 and 29.

At last year’s Paris Packaging Week, TOPPAN Digital presented a range of offerings for luxury beauty products, including authenticity verification centered on an ID authentication platform, high-security NFC tags that facilitate opening detection, and NFC tags that use an eco-friendly paper substrate for the antenna.

At this year’s event, TOPPAN Digital will showcase comprehensive solutions to challenges being addressed by the beauty industry, such as gray market detection based on traceability information, recall management, and promotion of repeat sales through enhanced customer engagement.

Background and aims

Despite many brands in the luxury beauty sector taking action to prevent selling outside of legitimate sales channels, gray market diversion that exploits differences in retail prices between countries remains an issue. In addition, the complexity of managing a diverse range of beauty products and production lots means that when a product recall is required, it can be challenging to trace and collect products and to obtain consumers’ contact details to promptly provide them with the necessary information.

At Paris Packaging Week, TOPPAN Digital will demonstrate how its NFC tags and ID authentication platform can be leveraged for traceability solutions that make it possible to identify illicitly diverted beauty products and unauthorized distributors, pinpoint and collect relevant products in the case of a recall, and notify consumers promptly.

When using NFC tags to give each product a digital ID, the method often employed is to attach labels to the surface of the packaging. However, in many cases this is not envisaged when the packaging is designed, and the subsequent attachment of labels can negatively impact printed designs, create the need to devise a label attachment process, and increase the manufacturing workload.

To address these challenges, TOPPAN Digital offers smart packaging solutions that optimize ID management and alleviate the manufacturing workload without sacrificing design quality. This is achieved by integrating NFC tags into primary containers or paper-based secondary packaging for beauty products.

Main solutions on show

Gray market detection and recall management solutions using ID authentication platform

・TOPPAN Digital will run demonstrations of solutions that involve giving each product a digital ID via an NFC tag, using a cloud-based ID authentication platform to manage information read by smartphones, and utilizing the information obtained to enable gray market detection, product recall management, and various other services.

Smart packages with integrated NFC functions

・TOPPAN Digital will present various methods for integrating NFC tags into plastic containers and paper-based secondary packaging for beauty products.
・Incorporating NFC tags into the structures of paper-based packaging or plastic containers can bolster security while maintaining packaging design quality.
・Making part of embedded NFC tags brittle ensures that they break when packages are opened to avoid the risk of tags being fraudulently removed or reused.
・Positioning a circuit that detects disconnection at the opening of the package makes it possible to provide optimal information to consumers in accordance with whether the package has been opened or not when they read the NFC tag by, for example, providing exclusive content or offers to people who have purchased the product.
(https://www.holdings.toppan.com/en/news/2021/06/newsrelease210622e.html)

Driving repeat purchases with a tag that detects liquid volume

・This tag detects the presence and remaining volume of liquid inside a container based on the level of capacitance. Reading the NFC tag on the container with a smartphone allows consumers to check how much of the product is left and enables brands to provide guidance on additional purchases efficiently. When the tag detects that the level of liquid in the container is low, a reminder or link with a special offer can be sent via a smartphone to enhance convenience for consumers while driving repeat purchases. This allows brands to strengthen customer engagement and increase sales revenue.
(https://www.holdings.toppan.com/en/news/2023/07/newsrelease230705_1.html)

Other NFC tags for luxury beauty packaging

・On-metal NFC tag
This tag maintains good communication performance even when attached to metal containers.

・Super mini-sized NFC tags
Super mini-sized NFC tags with diameters ranging from 7 mm to 10 mm can be attached to compact containers for beauty products such as lipstick and mascara. 

・Paper NFC tag
This is a plastic-free tag that replaces PET base material with paper while maintaining communication performance.

About Paris Packaging Week 2025

・Dates: January 28 & 29, 2025
・Venue: Paris Expo Porte de Versailles
・Organizer: Easyfairs (Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium)
・Official website: https://www.parispackagingweek.com/en/exhibitor/paris-packaging-week-2025/
・TOPPAN Digital booth: D150

About the TOPPAN Group

Established in Tokyo in 1900, the TOPPAN Group is a leading and diversified global provider committed to delivering sustainable, integrated solutions in fields including printing, communications, security, packaging, décor materials, electronics, and digital transformation. The TOPPAN Group’s global team of more than 50,000 employees offers optimal solutions enabled by industry-leading expertise and technologies to address the diverse challenges of every business sector and society and contribute to the achievement of shared sustainability goals.
https://www.holdings.toppan.com/en/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/toppan/