French RFID specialist Tageos is helping brands and retailers embed discreet NFC functionality into packaging without altering its appearance.

Tageos worked with UK firm Pragmatic Semiconductor, a pioneer in flexible semiconductor technology, to launch the EOS Lite and EOS Zero Lite antennas.

These are based on Pragmatic’s flexible and sustainable NFC Connect product line. The antennas have slim, low-carbon footprints, supporting growing demand for item-level intelligence and market opportunities to connect physical and digital worlds.

The EOS-932 Zero Lite PR1301 (www.tageos.com/en/products-services/eos-zero-lite.html) is a sustainable paper-based NFC inlay for seamless integration into paper packaging and labels. It enables a wide variety of mass market applications such as consumer engagement and product authentication where sustainability, form factor and digital connectivity are critical.

Combining the thin Pragmatic NFC Connect chip with a paper-based inlay antenna supports smooth integration to enable high-volume manufacturing, cost-effective deployment, and improved paper recyclability across retail packaging and labels.

Developed at the Tageos Innovation Center of Excellence (ICoE), the products harness the company’s expertise in sustainable RFID inlays and tags and are the first to feature Pragmatic’s NFC Connect (www.pragmaticsemi.com/nfc-connect/) PR1301 chip. With its thin, flexible design, the chip is imperceptible to the touch, allowing for discreet integration into curved surfaces, on packaging or within products, to unlock mass market item-level intelligence in areas traditionally constrained by cost, supply chain and sustainability challenges.

By enabling scalable digital product identity and consumer smartphone interaction, the inlay supports emerging physical-digital integration, recycling in modern retail supply chains and the digitisation of the customer journey. Brands and retailers can now embed discreet NFC functionality into packaging without altering its appearance, reduce their overall carbon footprint, and transform products into marketing channels for consumer engagement, product authentication and brand protection.

“Our close collaboration with Pragmatic Semiconductor combines innovation with a clear vision for sustainability, enabling customers to deliver highly scalable, cost-effective, and truly sustainable NFC inlays for smart packaging applications,” said Matthieu Picon, CEO of Tageos (www.tageos.com). “The new and growing FlexIC-based product lines EOS Lite and EOS Zero Lite are yet another example of our path to success, opening new possibilities for brands to connect to their customers through their products and the consumer’s most personal device, the smartphone.”

David Moore, CEO of Pragmatic Semiconductor (www.pragmaticsemi.com), added: “Bringing this innovation to market is an exciting deployment of our FlexIC technology. With Tageos, we are addressing the rapidly expanding opportunity to seamlessly integrate intelligence at item level and deliver sustainable, connected experiences at scale. Together, we are shaping a new era of smarter packaging, enabling direct consumer engagement with virtually any item to prove authenticity, deepen trust and unlock data-driven insights and transparency across the value chain.”

Prototype samples of the EOS-932 Zero Lite PR1301 will be available by the end of next month on request. A further suite of companion products will launch later this year. Volume orders are expected to be available from Q3.