According to a new report by Allied Market Research titled Anti-counterfeit Packaging Market in Food and Pharmaceuticals—Technologies, Applications and Global Forecast through 2020, the global anti-counterfeit packaging market in food and pharmaceuticals is forecast to attain market value of $142.7 billion by 2020, from $57.4 billion in 2013, growing at 13.9% CAGR from 2013 to 2020. Technological advancements and government initiatives to curb counterfeiting is expected to drive the market growth.

“Counterfeiting practices are rising for food and pharmaceutical products due to globalization of retail sector and dilution of supply chain. Anti-counterfeit packaging market in track and trace technology for product tracking is growing and expected to mature in next few years. Emergence of E-pedigree applications in pharmaceutical is changing the application of RFID technology from real time tracking to real time managing,” said Debbie Shields and Roshan Deshmukh, Allied Market Research analysts.

Anti-counterfeit measurements are taken by companies to minimize loss due to counterfeiting in terms of revenue and loyalty. Cost is the significant factor responsible for counterfeiting. However, drugs and food items that cost less are counterfeited more, mainly due to lower risk involved in terms of penalties. Anti-counterfeit packaging is used in both over-the-counter and prescription drugs. Increase in demand for over-the-counter drugs through the internet raises counterfeiting incidence. These threats can be minimized through implementation of RIFD technology.

Leading application of anti-counterfeit packaging includes pharmaceutical drugs, food products, electronic products and apparels. Ultra High Frequency RFID technology is providing real-time tracking of products with inventory-level management during supply chain. The global market for pharmaceutical and food anti-counterfeit packaging is braced by stringent government legislations assigned for specific regions.

Geographically, anti-counterfeit packaging technology is prevalent in developed countries, as these countries face more problems from duplicate products. Increase in awareness for authenticating counterfeit products is reinforcing the anti-counterfeit packaging market. North America is the highest revenue generator with $35.6 billion by 2015, with Asia-Pacific forecast to be the fastest growing market at a CAGR of 15.5% from 2013 to 2020.