What is a security label and how does it protect a product?

A security label is a label that incorporates features designed to make counterfeiting difficult and tampering visible, such as holograms, VOID patterns, unique serial codes, or UV inks. It protects a product by giving brands, retailers, and consumers a way to verify authenticity and detect interference.

Security labels typically combine one or more layers of protection: overt features that a consumer can see and check without equipment, such as a hologram or colour-shifting ink; covert features that are hidden and only verifiable by the brand or authorities, such as UV-fluorescent ink or microtext; and forensic features that require laboratory analysis to confirm. Tamper-evident constructions, such as a VOID pattern that appears when the label is peeled, or destructible vinyl that shatters on removal, add a second layer of protection by making any attempted opening or relabelling visible.

Serialisation, where each label carries a unique QR code, barcode, or number, extends protection into the supply chain, allowing track-and-trace from factory to point of sale and enabling consumers to scan and verify a specific unit. No single feature is unbeatable on its own, which is why security labelling generally combines multiple layers, matched to the value of the product and the sophistication of the counterfeiting threat it faces.