Strong beginnings
Since its founding in 2012, MuscleBlaze has made it their mission to provide Indian consumers with sports nutrition supplements specifically tailored to their needs.
As Gaurav Katiyar, Senior Manager of Online Business for Bright Lifecare (MuscleBlaze’s parent company) explains, “Thanks to a market-leading focus on authenticity and clinical research, as well as innovations such as protein test certifications and scoop-on-top packaging, MuscleBlaze has carved out a reputation built on quality, reliability, and results.”
Attempts to muscle in
The brand joined Amazon.in in 2016, gaining access to a new and increased customer base. Around this time, however, they also began to notice they had a counterfeit problem.
According to Gaurav, “Sports supplements are ripe for counterfeiting. Since authentic supplements are relatively high-cost, bad actors can sell counterfeit supplements at a reduced price, and still make high margins.”
“We knew we had a problem as soon as we started hearing complaints about low-quality products, both on Amazon.in and in conversations with our customer service team,” says Gaurav.
Transparency raises the bar
Fortunately, there was a solution on offer. Gaurav first found out about Transparency through a promotional email that introduced the programme, its benefits, and its features. Transparency uses secure, unique codes that identify individual units to help prevent the listing, sale, and shipment of inaccurate or counterfeit products. After a preliminary conversation with the Transparency team, the team at MuscleBlaze immediately saw the potential value.
MuscleBlaze needed a way to protect their brand and products across their entire supply chain throughout India, both online and offline. The Transparency programme provided just that. With MuscleBlaze attaching unique, scannable serialization codes to each unit of their products, Transparency has made it possible for customers to ensure they are fueling their bodies with exactly what they ordered.