Counterfeits concentrated in online channels are the biggest risk for food supplement brands.
Industry overview
Food supplements are not medicines, yet they are associated with health and are largely sold through online channels. In Türkiye these products are placed on the market with the approval of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and the list of approved products can be queried through the Ministry's system. The legislation provides that sales are limited to the business's own sales points, the internet addresses it has declared and its contracted direct sellers. Even so, products with different contents going on sale under the name and packaging of an approved product is one of the risks consumers find hardest to tell apart.
EU data shows a similar picture. In 2025 the product group most often flagged for suspected fraud in the EU Alert and Cooperation Network was dietary foods, food supplements and fortified foods; half of the cases in this group were linked to online sales. It therefore matters that a brand can both prove the authenticity of its packaging and show which authorised seller and internet address a product was sold through.
Figures
Dietary and supplement food cases flagged for suspected fraud in the EU ACN in 2025
Source: Avrupa Komisyonu, Alert and Cooperation Network 2025 Annual ReportApproximate share of ACN cases in this group flagged as possible fraud
Source: Avrupa Komisyonu, Alert and Cooperation Network 2025 Annual ReportShare of cases in the same group linked to online sales
Source: Avrupa Komisyonu, Alert and Cooperation Network 2025 Annual ReportRisks
Every industry has its own risk profile; solutions are configured around those risks.
The name and packaging of an approved product can be copied to sell products that have not been approved or have different contents. A consumer cannot tell from the packaging whether the box in their hand really is the brand's approved product.
In EU notifications, substances such as sildenafil, tadalafil, sibutramine and yohimbine stand out as problems in supplement products. When such products are sold under a brand's name, a health risk and reputational damage arise together.
Products can be sold at a discount on internet addresses the brand has not declared, on marketplaces and on social media accounts. In the EU's 2025 customs inspection, the places where non-compliant products were most often reported were large e-commerce marketplaces.
In sales running through direct sellers and dealers, if you do not know which seller a product was delivered to, unauthorised sales cannot be traced. The legislation also holds the business jointly responsible if a contracted direct seller sells elsewhere.
Our approach
Grafex, Tagvex and Authex can be used together or separately in any industry.
Smart packaging
An invisible signature is worked into the packaging; a copy cannot pass verification.
Grafex sitesi
The invisible signature is worked into the existing design of the box, bottle or jar label and printed on your existing line; the look of the packaging does not change. A pharmacy or store assistant, a dealer or a consumer scans the packaging with the mobile app and confirms the product came from the brand's own production. Copied packaging does not carry this signature and separates out.
Secure labels
A unique number for every product; every step from production to customer is recorded.
Tagvex sitesi
A batch or unit number records line exit and deliveries to the warehouse, the dealer, the direct seller and the e-commerce warehouse. That makes it possible to show which authorised seller a product was given to and which channel it reached the consumer through. Duplicated codes come to light through unexpected or repeated scans.
Digital monitoring
Brand risks in digital channels are detected, prioritised and turned into action with evidence.
Authex sitesi
Marketplaces, social media sales accounts, digital advertising, domain names and app stores are monitored; sales at addresses the brand has not declared and counterfeit listings are documented with their date and content. Takedown requests are filed and followed to conclusion; whether removed content reappears is also monitored.
Example scenario
The box is printed with the invisible signature on the existing line; a Tagvex number is assigned to every box and the batch enters the records at line exit.
Cases are scanned on leaving the warehouse and on delivery to the pharmacy, dealer or direct seller; which seller the product was given to is recorded.
Authex monitors sales of the product at undeclared internet addresses and on marketplaces; detections are documented and the takedown process is started.
The consumer scans the box they received with their phone and sees that the product is genuine and came through an authorised channel.
Regulation
The main rules that apply in your industry, or will soon take effect.
Published in the Official Gazette on 2 May 2013, the regulation governs product approval, the limiting of sales to the business's own sales points, declared domain names and URLs and contracted direct sellers, and the establishment of traceability at every stage from raw material supply to placing on the market. The business must be able to identify the source a product was obtained from and the places it was sold.
Food supplements approved by the Ministry, together with the businesses that produce, process and import them, are published by the Ministry; the list can be queried by company name, approval number or product name. Being able to match the approval number to the product is the first step in checking a product's legal status.
Defines food supplements as concentrated sources of nutrients or other substances with a nutritional or physiological effect, and aims to protect consumers against health risks and misleading information. Member states may require notification of the placing of a product on the market to the competent authority for monitoring purposes.
This section is for information only; rely on official sources for current obligations.
FAQ
The approval number shows that the product has been approved by the Ministry and can be checked against the approved list. But because the number is information printed on the packaging, it can be copied; to show that a box on the market really is the brand's own production, the packaging itself needs to be verified.
Tagvex records show which seller every batch or unit was delivered to. When a product bought for testing is scanned, the records show which seller it entered the market through.
Products are scanned as they are delivered to direct sellers and the quantity going to each seller is recorded. When a product turns up in a channel outside the contract, the records show which seller it was delivered to.
No. The invisible signature is worked into the existing packaging design and the packaging is printed on your existing line. The look of the product does not change.
No, legal obligations remain the responsibility of the business. Keeping orderly records that show a product's source and the places it was sold does, however, support preparation for the traceability obligations set out in the regulation.
Blog
How Türkiye's İTS and the EU Falsified Medicines Directive run serialisation, and what supplement and cosmetics brands can learn.
8 min read
How the grey market and channel diversion arise, why they harm brands, and how traceability data makes those movements visible.
8 min read
Collecting evidence, filing notices and following removals against counterfeit listings on marketplaces and social media, and dealing with repeat sellers.
7 min readOther industries
PharmaceuticalsThe source of the product and its distribution chain can be verified at every step.
Food and beverageBatch tracking narrows the scope of a recall and makes channel diversion visible.
Cosmetics and personal careCounterfeit packaging and unauthorised online sales erode trust in the brand.Request a meeting
In the first meeting we review your product, sales channels and the risks you face, then recommend a verification method that fits.
Request a meeting