How is counterfeiting a threat
Every niche industry and premium brand faces the biggest, most prevalent, and most ignored problem today. The counterfeiting problem affects all products, whether shoes, watches, or handbags. It also includes perfumes, jewelry made of diamonds, and medicine. Despite this, very few are taking steps to combat the problem. Those who do are using antiquated, capital-intensive methods. The will to implement and accept the changes will be reduced.
To give you a sense of the magnitude and scope of this problem, I’ll present some numbers based on research conducted by institutions. According to OECD data, counterfeiting, and international trade totaled $1 Trillion in 2013. Counterfeit and pirated goods are estimated to reach nearly $3 trillion by 2022 .”. Many industry-specific studies will blow your mind. To make a point: Many fashion and brand houses ridicule the impact of counterfeit goods and their quality. It is destroying their business and their reputation in the market.
The Internet is the reason for this exponential growth. According to research conducted in 2016, there were 7.38 billion people on the planet, of which 3,37 billion used the Internet. Internet users visited 191 billion piracy sites. This means that one user’s total number of visits to piracy sites in 2016 was 53.33. One famous example is a sportswear company in 2017 that decided to sell its product through various marketplaces but withdrew from them because of the growth of fake products with the same store names.
Why is this counterfeit market so popular? First, anonymity, and second, global platforms. They relaunch with a different name half as fast as they are banned from an ecommerce platform.
“Blockchain” is the best solution for this problem. How? Customers want transparency. We provide it by tracking their product throughout its entire lifecycle, and the data is unalterable. We can provide acceptance speed to companies via blockchain technology. Blockchain’s acceptance speed is much faster than setting up infrastructure, buying/lending stores, and spending tons of capital to expect a city to appear at your door in this digital age.
I will present a case study based on the Wine Industry under the Supply Chain umbrella.
Use Cases Based on the Wine Industry
Here’s a quick overview of the processes involved in making wine:
Wine Making Process
The winemaking process, the winemaker, and their processes are all exclusive. A winemaker’s process is exclusive (except for the commonest and most essential). Why? They want to stand out and be different in the world. It is also important to consider the story, art, and history of winemaking, as this is another factor that determines the price.
The grapes are grown in a vineyard under perfect conditions.
Vigneron takes care of the grapes, protects them, and grows them. The VigneronVigneron chooses grapes based on what type of wine is being produced.
He/she should also consider the soil’s pH, the vineyard’s temperature, the type of soil in which the grapes will be grown, the fertilizers and pesticides used to protect the crop during its growth cycle, and the method for harvesting.
A vigneron giving details about viticulture methods could be a game changer for the wine industry. This is because different viticulture practices involve different processes and the use of pesticides and fertilizers, ultimately leading to different levels of sulfites (in the final product) in the bottle. The certification body certifies the wine bottles packed by wineries based on their sulfite level. Oenophiles then estimate the price and quality of the wine.
After harvesting, each VigneronVigneron delivers the grapes to the winery/cold storage in batches. This entity will conduct tests on the grapes’ quality, breed, sugar levels, moisture, pH level, temperature, and flavor to determine their fate.
After certain grape batches have met the basic criteria, they are separated and grouped based on their similarity in properties. They are then crushed either manually or mechanically. After the grapes have been crushed, we obtain a mixture of grape juice, solids, and skin.
The process for white and red wines is the same up to this point. To produce red wine, we must keep the juice of grapes (specifically red grapes), along with solids and skins, to obtain tannins, flavor, and color. Maceration is the process of allowing the must to rest for a certain amount of time. We won’t macerate when making white wine.
The pressing can be done manually. The grape juice and the rest of the solids, seeds, and skin are separated during this process. This grape juice goes by the name free-run.
Fermentation is the process by which the grape juice (also called glucose/sugar) is converted into alcohol and CO2 with the aid of cultured yeast. Some wineries do not use yeast to perform this chemical process but allow wild yeast to help.
A winemaker controls and monitors grape juice glucose/sugar conversion into alcohol. This is a very important process for each winery and the winemaker who oversees it. It determines whether or not a wine will be exclusive. Clarification is then done. After this, the wine can either be bottled directly or matured.
The container that the wine is aged/matured in is also very important. It affects its taste. The wine is aged/matured in stainless steel tanks or bottles. Oak barrels, ceramic tanks, and even stainless steel tanks are used.
During the aging process, winemakers conduct various tests to determine whether or not the wine has aged in the cellar. The most common tests are Brix, pH test, titratable acids, residual sugar, total sulfate, % alcohol, volatile acidity, and free or available sulfate.
It is also necessary to transport/export wine in bottles, tanks/barrels. When transporting wine by road or sea, you must be aware of the following: ventilation, light exposure (60%), humidity, vibrations, and temperature.
Let’s now turn our attention to the most important factors for wine producers and buyers around the globe.