Identiv and Narravero Join Forces to Accelerate the Digital Product Passport Era
On 2 July 2025, Identiv, a global leader in digital security and identification, and Narravero, a specialist in digital product intelligence, announced a partnership with ambitions that stretch far beyond compliance. Together, the two companies are positioning themselves at the heart of one of the European Union’s most transformative sustainability initiatives: the Digital Product Passport (DPP).
In an exclusive interview with Movetheneedle.news, Kirsten Newquist, Chief Executive Officer at Identiv, and Dr. Inga Ellen Kastens, Chief Commercial Officer at Narravero, spoke about the origins of their partnership, the impact of EU regulation, and their shared vision of a future where products don’t just comply, but communicate.
From Compliance to Communication
When asked what brought the two firms together, Newquist explained that the partnership “was born from a market opportunity created by upcoming EU sustainability regulations. Both companies share a vision that the future lies in making physical products smarter by securely connecting them to an intelligent digital infrastructure.”
That infrastructure is rapidly becoming indispensable. Companies shipping into the EU will soon need to demonstrate compliance with sustainability rules that cover traceability, lifecycle transparency, and consumer-facing information. Narravero already offers an integrated DPP platform, while Identiv contributes the hardware that bridges the physical and digital worlds.
For Kastens, the DPP represents far more than a compliance box to tick. “Narravero and Identiv share a conviction: the Digital Product Passport isn’t just a tech solution — it’s a turning point in how products connect with people,” she said. “We partnered to create an end-to-end system that empowers brands to transform packaging into a scalable, intelligent media channel — ready for regulation and optimised for business impact.”
The vision, she added, is of “products that don’t just inform, but communicate. DPPs that don’t just comply, but convert. And a future where every physical product is a digital starting point for value creation.”
Why Now?
The urgency stems from three converging forces: regulation, consumer demand, and technology readiness.
The EU’s Circular Economy Action Plan mandates the rollout of Digital Product Passports beginning in 2027, starting with batteries and later expanding to vehicles, textiles, electronics, furniture, and construction materials. The idea is simple but powerful: every product placed on the EU market should carry a digital identity that tells its full story — from material sourcing to carbon footprint to end-of-life recycling.
But these changes require significant preparation. As Newquist explained, “Readiness means updating or replacing systems, integrating across partners, and then testing and training teams.” Companies that delay risk scrambling to catch up as deadlines loom.
At the same time, consumers are demanding more transparency. They want to know not just what a product is made of, but where it comes from, whether it is genuine, and how it can be reused or recycled. Businesses, too, seek better tools to manage increasingly complex supply chains.
The third factor is technological maturity. Ultra-thin NFC inlays and interoperable digital platforms are now affordable, scalable, and reliable. “The technology has finally caught up with the vision,” Newquist said. “Identiv’s partnership with Narravero is about helping brands make that leap now.”
The Bridge Between Physical and Digital
Identiv specialises in embedding secure, scannable identifiers — NFC and RFID inlays, smart labels, and tags — directly into products or packaging. These identifiers link to Narravero’s platform, where the Digital Product Passport is hosted. A consumer, regulator, or supply chain partner can access the full dataset instantly, simply by tapping a smartphone.
That dataset is extensive. It can include origin of materials, energy use, carbon emissions, instructions for safe recycling, and proof of authenticity. For brands, it offers opportunities for storytelling, customer engagement, and protection against counterfeiting.
Early Impact in Luxury and Retail
One of the most immediate applications lies in luxury goods and retail. These industries face both regulatory scrutiny and customer expectations for transparency.
By embedding Identiv’s NFC inlays, brands can give consumers an interactive digital experience: a history of the product, proof of sustainability credentials, guidance on reuse, or recycling. At the same time, companies can benefit from smarter inventory management and counterfeit prevention.
“It’s a single solution that delivers operational efficiency and builds trust at the consumer level,” Newquist said during the interview.
Beyond Compliance: Turning Products into Relationships
Both companies emphasise that adoption of DPPs should not be framed merely as regulatory compliance. Kastens puts it succinctly: “Our adoption strategy focuses on making DPP integration effortless for brands, and reframing the DPP from a ‘regulatory burden’ into a strategic storytelling interface.”
Narravero works with innovation teams, CMOs, and product managers to unlock this potential. “Once companies realise that a DPP can boost loyalty, transparency and post-sale conversion, adoption shifts from duty to desire,” she explained.
Examples already in use include loyalty triggers, repair support, second-hand resale activation, and community feedback tools. For many brands, the DPP becomes the most direct and controllable interface with the customer — far surpassing traditional retail or packaging channels.
Scaling Across Industries
Although luxury goods may be the early adopters, both executives are clear that DPPs will spread across multiple sectors.
“Fashion and consumer electronics are already beginning to adopt DPPs for compliance and anti-counterfeiting,” Newquist noted. “In the automotive industry, there is significant potential to track component origin, maintenance history, and recycling pathways.”
The EU has already set phased timelines for batteries, vehicles, textiles, electronics, furniture, and building products, ensuring that adoption will become standard across the European economy.
Narravero is already scaling to industries such as fashion, cosmetics, furniture, and consumer goods. “Our platform is designed to scale, with infrastructure capable of handling over 180 million product interactions per month,” Kastens said. Scaling, she emphasised, is not only technical but cultural — bringing together marketing, sustainability, compliance, and IT teams under one system.
Looking Ahead: Sensors, AI, and Standards
The roadmap for Identiv includes advancing Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) inlays and RFID tags with complex requirements. These can incorporate environmental sensors or multi-component designs, enabling use cases in pharmaceuticals, logistics, and beyond.
Narravero, meanwhile, is investing in its Content Studio, allowing brands to create dynamic experiences without requiring app downloads. The company is also playing an active role in European standardisation through CEN/CENELEC JTC 24, ensuring that DPP standards are practical and aligned with market realities.
Both see artificial intelligence and blockchain as future enablers of data-driven supply chain intelligence. But the immediate priority, they told Move the Needle, is ensuring that companies are ready for the 2027 deadlines.
The Economics of Smart Packaging
One challenge is cost. Embedding smart identifiers requires an upfront investment, but both firms argue that the return is substantial.
For pharmaceuticals, the ability to prevent counterfeiting and ensure proper temperature handling can save lives as well as money. For consumer goods, the insights gained from direct customer interaction and lifecycle tracking can transform both marketing and supply chain efficiency.
“When considering this comprehensive lifecycle value,” Newquist said, “smart packaging more than justifies its investment.”
A Turning Point
The introduction of the Digital Product Passport is one of the most ambitious sustainability initiatives the EU has attempted. It aims to close information gaps, fight waste, and push industry towards circularity. But it also opens new frontiers in product-to-consumer communication.
As Kastens put it in the interview: “The real shift? From one-way compliance to two-way relationships — with the product itself as the medium. Or shortly: We turn products into relationships!”
For Identiv and Narravero, the partnership is as much about shaping that cultural shift as it is about providing the technical infrastructure. By 2027, many businesses may see DPPs as unavoidable. But those who move early could discover that what begins as compliance ends as competitive advantage.