After three decades as a leading source of information for the authentication industry, Authentication & Brand News™ (ABN) is entering a new chapter. Starting in October 2025, ABN will merge with its sister publication, Tax Stamp & Traceability News™ (TSTN), to form a single, expanded publication: Tax Stamp & Authentication News™ (TSAN).
As we look ahead, it’s also important to reflect on how Authentication News™ (as it was originally called) has evolved over the years, adapting its editorial focus in response to changes in the industry.
This evolution began with pioneering coverage of anticounterfeiting security features and has grown to encompass a broader perspective on brand protection, digital integration... and now tax stamps.
When Authentication News (AN) launched in 1995, the industry was at a crossroads. Banknotes had long been protected by centuries- old security features; the application of similar technologies to branded products was also beginning. The surge in counterfeiting of consumer goods during the 1980s and 1990s created an urgent demand for new measures.
The newsletter quickly established itself as a neutral platform for reporting on authentication technologies used in documents, products, and packaging. A defining early example was the coverage of the Kinegram®, featured in the very first issue of AN. By reporting such breakthroughs, the publication demonstrated its mission: to highlight technologies that would reshape the authentication landscape.
As founding editor Ian Lancaster noted, the goal was to encourage synergy between sectors.
Innovations such as holograms, colour-shifting inks, taggants, and covert features migrated across markets – sometimes from banknotes to branded goods and vice versa. The newsletter traced these shifts, showing readers how innovations could be adapted to new applications.
By the 2010s, AN had broadened its scope to cover not just technologies but also regulatory and commercial developments. From 10 issues a year it expanded into a monthly publication, reporting the increasing pace of innovation in the authentication market.
The publication’s first major transition came in 2022, when it evolved into ABN. This change marked an expanding focus on brand protection, which had become more critical than ever, especially as a result of COVID-19, which had accelerated the shift toward online shopping, providing counterfeiters with new opportunities to flood digital marketplaces with illicit goods.
While there was a sudden increase in counterfeiting and illicit trade, the industry also noticed the wider adoption of digital traceability technologies, as brands and governments started exploring new hybrid, phygital solutions.
ABN responded by deepening its coverage of these integrated approaches, reflecting the industry’s rapid evolution.
The evolution of ABN, as a source of business intelligence for the authentication industry, was always going to be driven by industry dynamics, which is now the case with this latest transition.
First, brand owners are increasingly seeking smart solutions that combine authentication, traceability, and consumer engagement, and that also enable them to comply with government regulations such as the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products. They are now experimenting with AI, blockchain, optical security, and cryptographic codes to enhance product integrity.
At the same time, government tax stamp and traceability systems are extending beyond excisable goods to a wider range of products. In parallel, these systems are embracing additional functions relating to product authentication and supply chain visibility, which takes them well beyond their original tax collection role.
Additionally, in recent years, we have witnessed significant industry consolidation in the areas of high-security fiduciary protection (including currency and identity) and revenue protection (including brand protection and tax stamps). These developments underscore how the industry is converging around integrated portfolios that merge physical security, digital traceability, and consumer engagement.
Furthermore, with the latest AI threats and opportunities, there is a compelling need for everyone to learn about new models, emerging technologies, programmes, and systems to protect their brands and revenue streams.
From the early reporting on the Kinegram to covering the pandemic-driven surge in counterfeit goods, to documenting the rise of smart packaging, AI, and industry consolidation, ABN has continually evolved alongside its readers.
Bringing these different dynamics together under the Tax Stamp & Authentication News banner will provide governments, brand owners, technology providers, and enforcement agencies with more comprehensive, streamlined news and analysis on this rapidly evolving landscape.
We are confident that TSAN will carry on the ABN tradition, serving as the definitive voice for a community that spans governments, brand owners, technology providers, and enforcement agencies, in their united mission to secure revenues, protect brands, and trace products.
