Tapì Group, the international Group specializing in the design, production, and distribution of high-end technological closures for the premium beverage sector, and Thin Film Electronics ASA, the leader in near field communications (NFC) solutions, have signed a Letter of Intent for an exclusive joint partnership to combine their industry-leading innovation capabilities to better serve the needs of the wine and spirits industry.

Tapì, headquartered in Massanzago (PD), Italy, and Thinfilm, based in San Jose, California, have established a strategic partnership encompassing development, delivery, and implementation of Thinfilm’s NFC-enabled solutions. The collaboration will create dependable, cost-effective closure solutions for brand protection and consumer engagement purposes.

Thinfilm will provide connected product solutions to be integrated into Tapì closures for wine and spirits customers

“This is further confirmation that, here at Tapì, we are capable of innovating and anticipating trends in our sector. We are excited to offer cutting-edge IoT technology in the beverage sector, which will protect and enhance our customers’ products on several fronts. Counterfeit products not only cause worldwide losses in the sector, but they are a big health problem,” said Tapì Group Chief Executive Officer Roberto Casini. “In addition, brands are also now looking for new ways to interact with their consumers. These cleverly integrated smart closures can help our customers track and protect their products while at the same time strengthening their reputations on the market by increasing engagement with consumers.”

“We are thrilled to be joining Tapì in addressing the rampant worldwide counterfeiting problem plaguing their spirits customers, as well as giving brands’ empowered consumers unique and engaging experiences,” said Kevin Barber, Chief Executive Officer of Thinfilm. “Many brands are looking for new insights in order to move from indirect, transactional engagement to direct, long-term relationships with their consumers, as well as improvements to their packaging that will make the products more attractive and safer.”

The two companies have begun to develop NFC-enabled OpenSense® closures so that brands may protect their products, thus assuring their customers that the contents of the bottle are authentic and safe to consume. The OpenSense solution detects when a closure seal has been broken and alerts the consumer that the container or bottle may have been tampered with. A second closure type, based on the Thinfilm SpeedTap® tag, is designed to allow brands to open a direct channel to customers for delivering dynamic, real-time experiences throughout the consumer journey. The strategic partnership between Tapì and Thinfilm will cover both tag types and use cases.

Tapì and Thinfilm are working with premium brands to integrate NFC-integrated closures into their bottling and/or packaging production lines with minimum disruption and maximum performance.

Today, the total global addressable spirits market is estimated to be 65 billion bottles annually. The companies will release a suite of integrated smart closures to the premium segment of the spirits market over the coming months, addressing a broad range of spirits closure styles and design, aesthetic, and protection requirements.