Connected packaging partnership launched by WestRock, Evrythng and Digimarc

WestRock's Connected Packaging Solutions, developed through a collaboration between WestRock, Evrythng and Digimarc, will be demonstrated in Digimarc's booth at the National Retail Federation's (NRF) annual Convention & EXPO, nicknamed ‘Retail's BIG Show,' which takes place January 15-17 in New York City.

As part of this smart packaging collaboration for paper-based consumer packaged goods (CPG) products, WestRock, a differentiated paper and packaging provider, will print Digimarc barcodes that can be scanned by smartphones, point of sale scanners, and other machine vision devices. Digimarc barcodes are essentially invisible barcodes repeated across the entire surface of packages and other media. These 'digital triggers' are integrated with the Evrythng IoT Platform, giving each physical package a unique Active Digital Identity (ADI) and data profile in the cloud.

‘WestRock's Connected Packaging Solutions bring new levels of real-time interactivity to paper based consumer packages globally,’ said Craig Gunckel, president, WestRock's enterprise solutions and displays business segments. ‘The combination of smart packaging, powered by smart software in the cloud, makes literally billions of packaged goods more intelligent, more interactive, more trackable and more valuable to CPG companies, retailers and their customers.’

According to SmithersPira, the intelligent package market is expected to be worth over $2B USD by 2021, with expected growth to be at least 18 percent annually.

‘By digitally-enabling the smart product packaging at point of manufacture, we can add real-time connected intelligence to any physical product throughout its lifecycle,’ said Niall Murphy, founder and CEO of Evrythng.

Bruce David, CEO of Digimarc said: ‘Our collaboration with WestRock and Evrythng is another step in delivering of our Intuitive Computing Platform based on Digimarc Barcode. This collaboration will expedite development of interactive packaging for progressive brands, which will benefit from more accurate inventory tracking, faster retail sales, and direct communications with consumers."