Champagne Charles Heidsieck is a long-standing example of low-key luxury in the champagne industry. Founded in 1851, it once set off a champagne craze in the US market. After several changes of ownership, it was revived after being acquired by the French luxury group EPI in 2011. It is now one of the most admired champagne brands in the world, ranking fourth in the 2023 global list. Its winemaker has won the title of "Winemaker of the Year" in the international wine competition 12 times in more than 20 years. Its wines have won more than 180 gold medals and 32 trophies in the past decade. Because it insists on brewing a high proportion of aged base wine and rarely enters the retail channel, it is mainly supplied to the world's top restaurants, hotels and private collectors. It is highly praised by professional wine critics and is a top champagne brand with both quality and scarcity.
In today's highly competitive wine, champagne and spirits market, product traceability and transparency of distribution channels have become one of the key factors for brand success. As a leader in the industry, Champagne Charles Heidsieck recently announced that by introducing advanced RFID (radio frequency identification) technology, it not only achieved full traceability of products from production to sales, but also greatly optimized the monitoring efficiency of its distribution channels, setting a new benchmark for the industry.
Overcoming the impact of liquids on RFID signals with Checkpoint
Champagne Charles Heidsieck is well aware that the stable application of RFID technology in liquid environments is a technical challenge. To this end, the company has joined hands with Checkpoint Systems to jointly deploy a complete RFID traceability solution called BottleID. The solution effectively overcomes the impact of liquids on RFID signals through innovatively designed RFID inlays, ensuring stable and efficient data reading even in bottles filled with liquids. This breakthrough not only improves the accuracy of product traceability, but also provides a valuable technical reference for the entire beverage industry.
The BottleID solution integrates RFID channel readers, RFID inlays and product data control and integration software to build a comprehensive product traceability system. During the production process, RFID tags are embedded on the back of each bottle. When these tags pass through the RFID channel reader, they can quickly associate with the carton, and this process will not affect production efficiency. Through this system, the company can track the flow of each bottle in real time, from the production line to the warehouse, and then to various sales points, and every link is under control.
With RFID technology, Champagne Charles Heidsieck is now able to fully track all bottles in its distribution network, which not only greatly optimizes flow control, but also effectively enhances the brand image. Consumers can get more detailed information about the product by scanning the RFID tag on the bottle. This transparency enhances consumers' trust in the brand.
Far-reaching impact on the beverage industry
This innovative move by Champagne Charles Heidsieck has brought many benefits to the beverage industry. First, it realizes reliable unit identification of each bottle, ensuring accurate reporting of product quantities. Secondly, by accurately reporting product quantities by destination and at each stage of the supply chain, companies can more easily verify products on various distribution channels and ensure smooth market supply. In addition, RFID technology also provides reliable real-time inventory data, helping companies to adjust production plans in time and avoid inventory backlogs or shortages.
Champagne Charles Heidsieck has laid a solid foundation for further developing the potential of RFID technology in the future. The company plans to work with blockchain experts in wine, champagne and spirits to combine traceability data with blockchain technology to ensure the integrity and immutability of data. In addition, the company will continue to explore the application of RFID technology in improving production efficiency and optimizing supply chain management, bringing more innovative solutions to the industry.
In addition to this champagne company, there are currently many food and beverage companies that have introduced RFID technology to improve supply chain management efficiency, enhance product traceability, ensure food safety and optimize consumer experience. The following are some beverage companies that have adopted RFID technology and their application cases:
Kweichow Moutai
System construction: As early as 2011, Moutai began to build an RFID anti-counterfeiting and traceability system. By implanting RFID electronic tags for each bottle of wine, it achieved full-chain traceability from production to sales. Consumers can scan the label through the NFC function of their mobile phones to obtain the authenticity and traceability information of the product, effectively combating counterfeit and shoddy products and enhancing the brand image and market competitiveness.
Application effect: Moutai's RFID anti-counterfeiting and traceability system not only enhances the anti-counterfeiting ability of the product, but also provides consumers with a convenient way to identify authenticity, improving consumers' purchasing experience and brand loyalty.
Wuliangye
Technical application: Wuliangye uses the world's first RFID dual-frequency tag on the bottle cap, which has the technical advantages of long ultra-high frequency reading distance, strong high-frequency penetration, and high penetration rate. Consumers can directly check the authenticity of the product through a mobile phone with NFC function, and quickly verify it without opening the outer packaging. Wuliangye's RFID anti-counterfeiting system is divided into four parts: tags, packaging line data collection, outlet reader equipment, and back-end data center. The RFID tag realizes the three-code association of box code, box code and RFID code to ensure that the product is traceable throughout the process.
Market impact: Wuliangye's RFID anti-counterfeiting technology effectively combats counterfeit and shoddy products and improves consumers' purchasing experience and brand loyalty. At the same time, Wuliangye also uses RFID technology to monitor and manage the entire life cycle of the product, improving production efficiency and product quality.
Tsingtao Beer
Application scenario: Tsingtao Beer introduced RFID technology to realize the "one barrel, one code" intelligent traceability system for fresh beer. Each beer barrel is implanted with an RFID electronic tag to record information such as production date, batch number, and alcohol concentration.
Effect: Through RFID technology, Tsingtao Beer can monitor the entire process of beer production, transportation and sales in real time to ensure product quality and safety. Consumers can scan RFID tags to query detailed information about beer and enhance their consumption experience.
PepsiCo
Application scenario: PepsiCo cooperated with Vytal Global, a German reusable packaging software supplier, to design a recyclable cup with an RFID electronic tag. The cup is used in fast food chains and large-scale events to efficiently manage cup allocation and recycling.
Effect: RFID technology helps PepsiCo to formulate regional allocation strategies, predict service life and prepare for recycling of cups, reduce resource waste and promote sustainable development.
With the continuous maturity of RFID technology and the reduction of costs, more and more beverage companies have begun to pay attention to and introduce RFID technology. It is expected that more beverage companies will adopt RFID technology in the future, especially in supply chain management, product traceability and consumer interaction.
This paper is from Ulink Media, Shenzhen, China, the organizer of IOTE EXPO (IoT Expo in China)
