Chroma Signet is an open source source barcode system that verifies product authenticity and makes supply chains transparent. Consumers get access to verified provenance data, and marketers can gather permissioned marketing data from their consumers.
Hello Hunters! (Thanks to @chrismessina for hunting this and for the great alpha product feedback.)
I'm the co-founder and CEO of Chroma, a "protocol design studio" founded in 2013. Chroma Signet is our latest product - it's also my favorite, and the one that's had the most early traction of anything that we've shipped.
We came up with the idea while solving a real problem for Select, a large vape manufacturer in the cannabis industry. They were being counterfeited and although their product was safe, the fake versions of their products being sold on the black market were potentially harmful to consume. Then the vape health crisis hit and took a massive toll on their sales.
So we invented an anti-counterfeiting method that uses public key infrastructure to validate the authenticity of their products. We simply print a QR-encoded private key onto a sticker affixed to the product's package. Then the customer scans the code and generates a public key using our app. If that matches the key in our database, we can assure the customer that the product is safe.
Once that problem was conquered, we continued to extend our blockchain technology stack into the area of supply chain transparency. Now our customers are able to certify any aspect of their supply chain using our open protocol for claims certification.
We've got a bunch of deals pending in the recreational cannabis industry. But this technology would work well for any consumer packaged good company.
If you know anyone that could use our "crypto-stickers" to educate their customers and gather customer marketing data in the process, let us know. Happy to answer any questions as well.
Fantastic idea, well executed, and much needed. The counterfeit possibilities are huge: from electronics to wine to watches. The regulatory compliance possibilities are a also a big value add for companies. And the customer insights and loyalty possibilities are endless. I'm curious how you'll determine which (if any) of the many markets, value propositions, and customer segments to prioritize, and in what order. Congratulations!
@scott_kennedy Thanks Scott, sounds like some of your projects have similar social ambitions. I'd love to learn more. You're right that selecting from the various value propositions unlocked by "smart packaging" is an interesting challenge. At a larger brand, different stakeholders care about different features. We're still figuring it out, but our early feedback is positive on multiple fronts.
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