In the modern era, one of the greatest gifts to humanity has been technological development. While considering the fact that the generation is indebted to the advancements, ignorance of the constructive reality is not an option, and this development could turn into a pessimistic approach for some brands.
Adhering to such changes, technological advancements have made it easier for businesses to have an online presence to expand their reach by erasing geographical boundaries. They have created a challenge for brands to maintain offline and online authenticity. This has resulted in a situation where the concern over brand protection has now come to light.
A technology-driven business, Ennoventure Inc. is a leader in covert brand authentication and engagement solutions for a range of industries, including FMCG, food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, and agrochemicals.
In order to address the problems caused by product counterfeiting in a range of industries, Ennoventure offers a non-disruptive technique of identifying the authenticity of items without requiring any changes to the way they are packaged or printed. Its anti-counterfeit solution uses smartphones and combines AI and cryptography to add an undetectable, unchangeable digital signature to the package artwork.
Let’s head into the disruptive Insights:
Visionaries behind Ennoventure Inc
Padmakumar Nair is a distinguished MIT Sloan School of Management alumni. He has more than 18 years of leadership experience in designing strategies that have benefited businesses all around the world. He has led teams that are multidisciplinary, cross-functional, and geographically varied, motivating them and fostering open communication in order to maximize commercial value.
IIM Bangalore alumna Shalini Nair has more than 20 years of experience in cutting-edge technology in the IT and services sectors. In 2017, Shalini Nair was managing her own business when Padmakumar approached her about starting the process of establishing Ennoventure with the aim of combating counterfeiting. Shalini had two US patent applications submitted by August 2018; one of them was approved in November 2018 and the other in February 2019. She co-founded Ennoventure with the goal of utilizing AI and cryptography to prevent counterfeiting and safeguard both the brand and the end user. She has worked at Ohile Technologies and HCL Infosystems in the past and is the owner of numerous IP rights.
The founders have been instrumental in increasing Ennoventure’s success. Shalini leads innovation, while Padmakumar is responsible for the company’s organizational vision and growth plan. They have always pursued the noble cause of bringing change to society through their innovative anti-counterfeiting solution, facing each roadblock that came their way with absolute grit and determination. Since its inception, the company’s guiding principle has been to solve the problems encountered by manufacturers and customers and make their lives simple with an easy-to-use solution that they can adopt.
About Ennoventure Inc.
A malaria epidemic that kills a kid every five minutes in Africa is entirely preventable, but only because of phony antimalarial drugs, according to one of Padmakumar’s classmates at MIT. This served as the catalyst for the product’s development. Ennoventure Inc. was founded in 2018 with the intention of being an innovative business that creates digital solutions to issues that people encounter on a daily basis. This solution was created expressly to ensure brand authenticity by safeguarding the packaging of brands that can be readily confirmed and followed by everyone in the distribution chain.
Value-Based Solutions
Ennoventure Inc. was established on the primary tenet of developing cutting-edge anti-counterfeiting technology that businesses could implement without requiring any process changes or capital expenditures, and that was simple for consumers to use to protect themselves. Its core values include being- innovative, truthful, courageous, generous, and open.
The company’s long-term objective is to solve problems by getting rid of counterfeit products in all industries. This issue has become even more serious in light of quickening digitization, growing consumer online shopping preferences, and associated online payment behavior. Consumers benefited from the shift to digital habits, but it also raised the likelihood of items being openly marketed on the market that were fake. The pharmaceutical, FMCG, automotive, and alcohol industries in India are particularly susceptible to attempts at counterfeiting. Ennoventure recognized a need in the market for unique solutions to safeguard the integrity and intellectual property of goods in industries.
The goal of Ennoventure is to offer experiences that empower people and enhance access to information while also advancing global change. The business is to build technologically advanced experiences that every day supports a brighter future for all living things.
Aligning Innovation with Uniqueness
The patented technology from Ennoventure produces unchangeable, invisible signatures on packaging using AI and cryptography. The solution’s USP is that it may be used without requiring any process changes and that anyone with a smartphone can scan it. The technology has a variety of applications, including brand engagement, identity management, authentication, and accessible packaging. Every product has an identity thanks to its encryption technology, which also gives awareness to the brand by fostering engaging and authentic user experiences.
Ennoventure developed a counterfeit prevention method that employs a covert cryptographic signature on the packaging artwork using artificial intelligence (AI) and cryptography and also delivers linked packaging experiences via smartphones. The company states, “Our distinctive cloud-based “plug and play” SaaS solution is stealthy and impervious to tampering. It is retrievable using any smartphone and is invisible to the naked eye.” Additionally, its hidden signature is seamlessly encrypted on the package artwork (without even a microdot being added to it), requires no expenditures in specialty printers or scanners, and can be applied with no process adjustments. Ennoventure’s product package includes augmented reality, virtual reality, and gamification, allowing for an integrated experience that includes brand authentication and engagement for consumer interaction. Other benefits that its technology offers include packaging that is accessible to those who are blind, real-time customer insights to inform marketing activities, and global tracking of counterfeit goods or parallel commerce.
Differentiators:
- Ennoventure has plug-and-play software (which provides API integration) that enables SaaS analytics. It provides social media and smart packaging integration.
- Its solution doesn’t require any process change or special ink on the packaging.
- The signature is embedded across the package and works on many substrates.
- The biggest innovation here is that the cryptographic seal is fully hidden and undetectable outside of retailers/manufacturers and can be applied to any type of packaging regardless of the size.”- Forbes USA Technology Council
Initial Challenges
Initially, Ennoventure had set up a small team of people, led by Shalini, in Bangalore, where the R&D center was located.
Padmakumar states, “When we were about to ascend with our first client, COVID struck us, and we were faced with a major financial crunch. We were left with no choice but to start from the ground up again.” He further adds that the team battled against all odds with perseverance and a “never say die” attitude. And fortunately, whenever it hit a roadblock, it was rescued in some or the other way. The company went for a series of bridge rounds, where it raised close to a million dollars, and more people joined hands to support its cause. Padmakumar asserts, “We were also blessed with an incredible core team that stood by us through thick and thin and helped us achieve our milestones.”
In 2021, Ennoventure raised its Series A funding, and that’s when the Managing Partner of Fenice Investment Group, Mr. Ahmad Chatila, joined the company as the Chairman of the Board. Padmakumar shares, “He shared the same vision as ours to bring change to society and gave us a lot of confidence and guidance in steering our venture. This indeed gave us wings to fly.”
The management motivates the team to deal with a particular situation by inspiring them to go the extra mile. It encourages them to take up challenging tasks to hone their talent and bring out the best in them.
Words for Emerging Visionaries
The challenge to humankind is huge, given that the global economic value of counterfeiting stands at approximately USD 2.3 trillion in 2022. As a result, in addition to the end user, brands are also affected negatively by counterfeiting. Brands are suffering, from severe revenue losses to goodwill losses. On the other hand, the packaging sector hasn’t advanced yet and is still trying to address this problem using an old-fashioned approach.
To make matters worse, the younger generation despises anything analog, including product packaging, and wants everything to be digital. Thus, in order to combat the problem of counterfeiting and keep up with emerging market trends, firms must employ innovative technologies.
Padmakumar wants to put power back in the hands of the people using the cutting-edge technology of Ennoventure. Its technology goes beyond merely discouraging fraudulent goods; it also gives customers access to product information.
Broadening the Scope of Effort
The funding Ennoventure has so far received is being utilized to hire more employees and create a global go-to-market strategy. It is currently concentrating its efforts on businesses in several industrial areas as part of its expansion plan. The business also intends to increase its presence in the US and European markets.
Ennoventure has outlined its future goals in order to advance its work. Instead of focusing only on product packaging, it is expanding the scope of its work to include fingerprinting and product-level encryption. By putting a focus on sustainability and recyclable materials, it is eager to contribute to a change in the world. Padmakumar says, “We currently have solutions that target carbon footprint reduction. In addition to this, we are, of course, expanding into new product verticals and exploring more global geographies.”
Recognition for Excellent Efforts
Important companies in the FMCG, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, and fashion apparel industries are among Ennoventure’s significant clients. Here are a few accolades and honors Ennoventure has earned during the course of its prosperous journey:
- Ennoventure recently won the Most Secure Anti-Counterfeit Technology 2022 award at the EMEA Security Conference and Exhibition.
- Awarded as the brand of the year 2022 by the CEO Story Magazine.
- Won the Smart Innovation Award 2022, organized by LEAP and CXODX.
- Ennoventure was selected for the Google Startups Cloud Program to receive Google Cloud credits, Google Cloud training, business support, and technical support.
- Ennoventure has been selected by Microsoft for Startups.
- Ennoventure was listed as one of the 96 most innovative Cambridge-based machine learning companies.
- It was featured as one of the 101 most innovative Massachusetts-based machine learning companies.
- Ennoventure was awarded “the most innovative brand protection technology for 2021” at the EMEA Security Conference and Exhibition.
- It got accepted into the Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund (MBRIF) Accelerator Program’s Cohort.
- Ennoventure was selected as a member of Area 2071.
- Forbes Technology Council highlighted several strengths of Ennoventure in a recent article: “cryptographic code embedded into the packaging makes counterfeiting impossible and also has the ability to educate and engage customers using augmented reality.