Product Authentication
A paper certificate of authenticity proves nothing
Your wine is genuine. Your watch is real. Your olive oil comes from the grove it names. The question is how your customer proves any of that to a buyer, an insurer or a collector twenty years from now.
A paper certificate can be printed by anyone. A PDF can be edited in minutes. Hologram stickers have been reproduced by counterfeiters since the 1990s.
TRUE issues blockchain secured certificates of authenticity that cannot be altered without breaking verification, stay checkable for decades, and look like they belong with the product they protect.
TL;DR
A blockchain certificate of authenticity records a product's identity, origin and details as a cryptographic fingerprint written to a blockchain at the moment of issue. A buyer, an auctioneer, an insurer or a customs officer scans the QR code and the certificate is recomputed and compared against that record, so any altered vintage, origin claim or serial number fails the check. Because the record is public rather than held on the brand's servers, it keeps verifying after decades, after a change of ownership and after the issuing company is gone. TRUE anchors to four chains, serves the certificate from your own domain, and can issue automatically from your production system.
- One scan settles authenticity, with no app, no account and no call to the brand.
- Any edit breaks it: change a vintage or a serial number and verification fails.
- It outlives the company, which is the requirement a fifty year old bottle really sets.
How large is the counterfeit trade in wine, spirits and luxury goods?
Large enough to be measured by customs authorities rather than estimated by brands. The OECD and the EU Intellectual Property Office put global trade in fakes at USD 467 billion, and the EUIPO estimates that counterfeiting costs the EU wine and spirits sector well over two billion euro a year in lost sales. Wine and spirits are among the most affected categories of all.
- Global trade in counterfeit and pirated goods reached USD 467 billion in 2021, up to 2.3% of world trade and up to 4.7% of EU imports. Source: OECD and EUIPO, Mapping Global Trade in Fakes 2025, based on customs seizure data.
- Counterfeiting costs the EU wine and spirits sector EUR 2,289 million in lost sales and nearly 5,700 jobs a year, plus EUR 2,068 million in lost tax revenue. Source: EUIPO press release, 11 June 2025, covering the 2013 to 2017 period.
- The 2024 OPSON operation seized 22,000 tonnes of food and around 850,000 litres of mostly alcoholic drink, worth EUR 91 million, across 29 countries. Eleven criminal networks were dismantled and 278 people reported to judicial authorities. Source: same EUIPO press release, from the Europol and Interpol operation.
The EUIPO describes the method plainly: counterfeiters reuse original bottles, or print fake labels to put on empty ones. Neither of those is defeated by a nicer label.
“Counterfeit food and beverages are a major public health concern. Our campaign aims to equip consumers with the knowledge to protect themselves while supporting legitimate businesses that uphold EU quality standards. This is a battle we must fight together: authorities, producers and consumers alike.”
Why does traditional product authentication fail?
Because each method protects the packaging rather than the claim, and every one of them depends on somebody still being around to vouch for it. Paper, holograms, PDFs and private serial databases all fail in the same place: the moment the product is far from the maker and the buyer needs an answer now.
Paper certificates
A paper certificate from a respected house carries weight until you consider that anyone can print a convincing replica. For a fine wine sold at auction decades later, the staff who signed it may have retired and the estate may have changed hands.
Holograms and security labels
Holograms were supposed to end counterfeiting and became an industry of their own. Counterfeit holograms are manufactured at scale, sometimes in the same facilities that produce legitimate ones. They add cost without adding proof.
PDF certificates
A digital certificate sent as a PDF is easier to store than paper and just as easy to change. Alter the vintage, the origin or the product and the file looks identical.
Private serial databases
A brand run verification database is a real improvement, and it is only as durable as the company maintaining it. If that company is acquired, closes or loses the data, verification goes with it.
What does anchoring a certificate on a blockchain change?
It moves the proof out of the packaging and out of your company. The certificate's contents are hashed at issue and the hash is written to public chains, so authenticity becomes a comparison anyone can run rather than a judgement anyone has to make.
Altering it breaks it
Each certificate carries a unique SHA-256 hash held on a blockchain. Change one character, a vintage year or an origin claim, and the hash changes completely and verification fails. There is no forgery careful enough to pass, because the answer is binary.
It keeps verifying for decades
A fine wine may not be opened for fifty years and a luxury watch may be resold three times across four decades. Because the record lives on distributed chains rather than on any company's servers, the certificate stays verifiable. TRUE writes to Ethereum, Polygon, AVAX and Fantom.
Anyone can check it in seconds
A buyer, an auctioneer, an insurer or a customs officer scans the QR code and sees whether the certificate is genuine and the details unaltered. No app, no account and no expertise needed.
It cannot be moved onto a fake
A paper certificate can be peeled off a genuine product and attached to a counterfeit. This one is cryptographically bound to specific product details, so moving it would mean altering it, which breaks verification.
Which products are these certificates used for?
Anything whose value depends on a claim that cannot be inspected: where it came from, who made it, when, and how many exist. Four categories dominate.
Fine wine and spirits
Wine fraud is documented and prosecuted. Rudy Kurniawan was convicted in December 2013 of manufacturing and selling counterfeit bottles of rare wine, complete with convincing labels and provenance paperwork, and was sentenced in August 2014 to ten years in prison, ordered to forfeit USD 20 million and to pay nearly USD 25 million in restitution, according to the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.
- Provenance records: origin, vineyard, vintage, bottling date and cellaring conditions.
- Chain of custody: ownership history from the estate to the collector.
- Tasting notes and winemaker details, held as a permanent record.
- Limited edition verification: bottle number, production run and authenticity details.
Vinkällaren Grappe, a premium Swedish wine merchant, issues wine provenance certificates with TRUE.
Watches, handbags and jewellery
Clothing, footwear and leather goods together account for 62% of counterfeit goods seized in global trade, according to the OECD and EUIPO analysis cited above, which makes the categories closest to luxury the most heavily targeted of all.
- Product identity: model, serial number, materials and construction details.
- Ownership history: a verifiable chain from the brand to the current owner.
- Repair and service records, which add resale value when they can be trusted.
- Limited edition status: production number, edition size and release details.
Premium food, olive oil, truffles and saffron
Food and drink counterfeiting is enforced at EU scale. The 2024 OPSON operation, run by Europol and Interpol across 29 countries, seized EUR 91 million of counterfeit and substandard food and drink, and the EUIPO records that foodstuffs were the second most seized product category at the EU's external borders in 2020.
- Origin verification: region, producer and harvest date.
- Production method: organic certification, traditional process and quality grade.
- Supply chain transparency: a verifiable route from producer to shelf.
- Batch certification: separate verification for each production run.
Art and collectibles
In the art market provenance carries most of the value. A work's price depends almost entirely on whether its ownership history can be established, which makes an unbroken and unalterable record the asset itself.
- Unbroken provenance: creator to current owner.
- Authentication details: materials, techniques and expert findings.
- Exhibition and publication history, held permanently.
- Insurance documentation: verified details an insurer can rely on.
Why use TRUE for premium products?
Because a certificate for a EUR 500 bottle or a EUR 10,000 watch has to look like it belongs with the product, and still be something a customs officer can check in five seconds. Those two requirements usually pull against each other.
Design that matches the product
TRUE certificates are animated, custom branded and built to feel as considered as the objects they authenticate, rather than looking like output from a tool.
Your domain and your brand
Certificates live at an address such as certificates.yourbrand.com rather than on a platform. When a collector shares one, the visit and the prestige come to you.
eIDAS compliant
TRUE meets the EU standard for electronic identification and trust services, which gives European brands a regulatory frame for a digital certificate of authenticity.
Automated issuing
Five REST API endpoints connect TRUE to your production workflow, so a finished product generates its certificate automatically, linked to that unit's details.
Permanence beyond any company
If TRUE ceased to exist tomorrow, every certificate it issued would still verify against the public chains. For products with multi-decade lives that is the whole point.
What does a blockchain certificate do that a paper one cannot?
Eight things, and each one matters at resale rather than at purchase. The table sets the two side by side.
| Feature | Paper or printed certificate | TRUE blockchain certificate |
|---|---|---|
| Resistance to counterfeiting | Careful forgeries pass a visual check | Cryptographic hash held on a blockchain |
| Verification time | Days, contacting the issuer and waiting | Seconds, by QR scan or URL |
| Travels with the product | Lost, damaged or separated | Linked to a QR code or NFC tag on the product |
| Provenance chain | Opaque ownership history | Transferable ownership record on chain |
| Resale verification | The buyer relies on visual inspection | An independent check with no central API |
| Brand visibility | The certificate stays in a drawer | Every verification is a visit to your site |
| Long-term integrity | Paper degrades and registries change hands | Permanently verifiable on chain |
| Cost per certificate | Print, hologram, postage and manual handling | Software only, close to zero per certificate |
What does it cost a brand not to authenticate?
Four things, and they compound. A product that cannot be proven genuine is worth less on the secondary market, is harder to insure at full value, and leaves the brand carrying the reputational damage when a fake surfaces under its name.
- Exposure to counterfeiting: fakes erode the reputation and the market value of the real thing.
- Harder resale: secondary market buyers want proof, and discount what they cannot verify.
- Underinsured: insurers price on verified provenance.
- A missed brand moment: a certificate worth sharing reinforces prestige every time it is opened.
What do brands ask about blockchain certificates of authenticity?
The five questions below come up in almost every conversation with a producer or a maison.
How long does a blockchain certificate stay verifiable?
Indefinitely. The verification data sits on blockchains, on Ethereum, Polygon, AVAX and Fantom, so a certificate keeps verifying even if TRUE stops operating. That matters for a bottle that may not be opened, or a watch that may not be resold, for decades.
Can a customer verify without special software?
Yes. Verification needs a phone camera to scan the QR code, or any web browser to open the verification link. No app, no account and no knowledge of blockchain.
How does this work for products already in circulation?
You can issue certificates retroactively. Create them against the specific product details you already hold, such as serial number, vintage, bottle number or production run, and deliver them to the current owners.
Can a certificate transfer when a product is resold?
The certificate stays permanently linked to the product's details, and a new owner verifies it with the same QR code or link. Ownership transfer records can be layered on top of that core authentication.
What does integration with our production system involve?
TRUE's REST API has five endpoints and connects to the systems you already run. When a product is finished, registered or shipped, the certificate can be issued automatically and linked to that unit. Most brands are integrated within weeks.
What do TRUE customers say?
“For us, it’s only natural to collaborate with the player in secure document management that has the highest quality, and stands for world-class security.”
“Amazing. I tip my hat for your design TRUE! It was really fun to be able to give blockchain-secured diplomas to the winners of HACK FOR SÖDERTÄLJE. This is the next level!”
Start protecting your products
Your products are real. The certificate that says so should be just as hard to fake.