The market for security features is growing at around 5.0% annually and stands at $4.0 billion in 2025, according to the latest market research from Smithers.

The trade in counterfeit goods has significantly expanded over the last five to ten years with the rapid growth in e-commerce.

We caught up with Keith Jacques, author of The Future of Anti-Counterfeiting, Brand Protection and Security Packaging to 2030, to discuss the key trends and drivers in the brand protection market.

What is the global impact of counterfeiting? 

Counterfeiting is a global problem affecting a wide variety of branded products in all regions, impacting brand reputations and carrying potential risks to consumer safety. The threat to businesses and their customers from this trade requires ever more effective security measures to protect branded goods. A growing number of purchases are now being made from online retail sites and social media platforms, driving the need for innovative security measures.

What key trends and technical innovations are impacting the industry?

Efficient track-and-trace systems are recognised as being a key weapon in the ongoing fight against counterfeit goods. This is particularly important in sectors such as pharmaceuticals, food, and beverages, where illicit products pose potentially serious health and safety risks to consumers.

The ever-shifting counterfeit landscape requires continued refinement of existing technologies to make them more secure, as well as the innovative use of new technologies.

Among the new technologies being introduced for enhanced brand protection is the concept of smart packaging into which functional technologies are incorporated as part of the production process. These features enable products to be tracked along the supply chain, verify their authenticity, and/or identify any evidence of tampering.

AI and machine learning systems are starting to be used by e-commerce sites to detect counterfeits more effectively, identifying small differences in packaging designs from those of authentic branded packaging.

The use of blockchain is also being developed to securely store the growing amount of data collected from supply chain track-and-trace systems and from financial information supplied by consumers.

How are regulations impacting this market?

We are starting to see regulations being introduced that address the rapid growth in online services such as e-commerce and social media to protect consumers using these platforms.

The European Union is leading on this with the Digital Services Act (DSA) which was implemented by all member states in 2024. The DSA is primarily concerned with the activities of those online platforms that are widely used by EU citizens: search engines, e-commerce sites, social media platforms, app stores, accommodation platforms, etc. 

The EU is also initiating a Digital Product Passport (DPP) scheme for products, components and materials supplied in the EU. Although the primary objective of DPPs is sustainability, they will also enhance brand protection through a unique QR code to provide an additional security measure against counterfeiters.

What area is growing the most in this industry?

Track-and-trace technologies that enable suppliers, retailers, and consumers to monitor the progress of branded goods through the supply chain have seen the fastest market growth over the last five years. This high growth is forecast to continue over the next five years as well.

Food is the largest segment within the anti-counterfeiting and brand protection market in 2025. Cases of food fraud have risen tenfold in the past four years, threating consumer safety and their trust in those businesses involved in the production and distribution of food.

Pharmaceutical products have a 6% share of the global value but they are an important sector of this market: the health and safety risks of counterfeit medicines and medical devices are particularly high. Pharmaceuticals are forecast to show the highest rate of growth over the next five years.

What challenges will the industry face over the next five years?

Counterfeiting is a worldwide issue and brand protection requires a high level of global collaboration between businesses, governments, and international organisations to effectively combat the counterfeit networks. Counterfeiters have become enterprising, innovative, and willing to rapidly alter or move their operations as and when necessary. This requires law enforcement agencies to be equally adaptable in their collaborative efforts across borders.

Many organisations working to combat the counterfeiting criminal gangs acknowledge that more still needs to be done. Higher levels of collaboration across a range of national and international agencies are required to formulate effective global solutions. More international harmonisation of customs regulations and IPR would also provide a global framework for all enforcement agencies to work under a common set of working practices.