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Amoabeng, Isaac (2023) Anti-counterfeit enforcement: a consolidated approach to fighting against counterfeit activities affecting FMCG (Food & Drink) companies in West Africa. Doctoral thesis, London Metropolitan University.
The significant growth of counterfeiting activities worldwide has become a concern and drawn attention to Companies, Governments, and some International support organizations. OCED (2016) report projected counterfeiting as more pronounced in the 21st century, drifting from the concentration of luxury goods and drugs to everything, including food and drinks.
However, the level of attention given to counterfeit crime is minimal compared to other crimes. Counterfeit crime is considered a low-level opportunistic crime compared to other organized crimes.
Coupled with this problem, the advent of the internet or cyber-related activities has even made counterfeiting activities more sophisticated, as counterfeiters hide behind the computer for online trading.
Furthermore, existing research has focused more on Luxury goods and drugs (D'Astous et al., 2001) than food and drink, especially in West Africa, which this research aims to address. In West Africa, there are challenges in anti-counterfeit enforcement due to ineffective legal support, leading to weak enforcement and a lack of resources, including the recruitment of enforcement officials with a high level of knowledge in the fight. Adams & Adams (2019).
This thesis investigates and proposes consolidated anti-counterfeit enforcement strategies supporting fast-moving consumer industries in West Africa based on a qualitative approach to implementing strategies.
This thesis reveals that the food and drink industry is faced with the challenge of counterfeiters chasing their brands worldwide. Consumers in West Africa have a taste for cheap and mostly fake products because of a low level of income and other socio-economic problems. Furthermore, counterfeiting harms businesses and affects profits. It also has negative effects on Government taxes and is a health concern. Moreover, the sophisticated nature of counterfeiters and the demand for cheap counterfeit goods have compounded the issue.
This thesis contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of food and drink counterfeiting research, having moved the debate from other fields of counterfeiting to food and drink companies within West Africa, i.e., giving this field of research focus a new direction.
Researcher suggests that more coordinated anti-counterfeit enforcement strategies are needed to control counterfeiting activities as related to food and drinks in West Africa due to the attraction of the food and drink business to counterfeiters, the swift nature of counterfeiters coupled with the weak systems in West Africa including lack of political will, lack of adequate legal enforcements and porous borders.
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