Skip to main content

From Portfolio to Shield: Earning the Non-UPF Verified Mark

Matt Stramel
Updated

Once products are claimed and validated in Portfolio, the next step is to earn the Non-UPF Verified Shield — a market-facing signal that proves your product meets the WISEcode Non-UPF standard. This article walks through the path from a validated product to a shield-bearing product, and what comes with it.

What the Non-UPF Verified Shield is

The Non-UPF Verified Shield is WISEcode's market-facing certification mark. It signals to consumers, retailers, and partners that a product has been independently verified against the WISEcode Non-UPF standard.

When a product earns the shield, you get:

  • Digital marketing assets — shield graphics in multiple formats (high-res PNG, SVG, dark-mode variant) for use on your website, social channels, and marketing materials
  • A signed certificate PDF — proof of verification for retailer buyers, regulators, and internal records
  • On-pack usage rights — apply the shield to your physical packaging according to the Usage Guidelines
  • Expiration management — shields are valid for a defined period; expiration dates and renewal alerts are tracked in Portfolio

The path from claimed product to shield

WISEcode does the qualification work for you. Once a product is claimed and its data is validated, the platform automatically evaluates it against the Non-UPF standard. Products that meet the criteria are surfaced as Pre-Qualified in your claimed portfolio — no need to manually check each Product UPF Report.

From there, Non-UPF Shield Verification is a 3-step in-app flow, launched directly from the portfolio:

  1. Select the products to verify. Open the Pre-Qualified list in Portfolio and pick which products you want to take through Verification (selecting all is recommended)
  2. Attest that the ingredient statement is accurate for each selected product. This step confirms that the data WISEcode has on file matches what's currently on the label
  3. Pay for verification in-app. Pricing is shown before checkout and scales with the number of products you're verifying

That's the whole flow. There is no engineering-review wait — verification completes in-flow at the moment of payment, and your shield assets, certificate PDFs, and digital usage kit are available immediately in Portfolio.

What if my product doesn't qualify?

If a product classifies as UPF, it won't appear in the Pre-Qualified list — the Non-UPF Verified Shield isn't available for it yet. Two paths forward:

  • Reformulate. The Product UPF Report shows which ingredient(s) caused the classification. Reformulate, update the ingredient list via the data ingestion chat, and the product will re-qualify automatically. It'll appear in your Pre-Qualified list as soon as the new data is saved.
  • See the Reformulation Roadmap. WISEcode has guidance on the most common ingredient swaps that move a product from UPF to Non-UPF — published in the KB.

Marketing assets and how to use them

Every shield-bearing product gets an asset kit including:

  • High-resolution Shield PNG (standard)
  • SVG vector for any-size scaling
  • Dark-mode Shield variant (white-on-dark)
  • Social media templates for Instagram and LinkedIn
  • A one-page "Why Non-UPF Matters" consumer-facing PDF
  • The signed certificate PDF for B2B and regulatory use

Refer to The Non-UPF Verified Shield: Usage Guidelines for Packaging and Retail for placement rules and on-pack best practices.

Shield expiration and renewal

Shields are valid for one year from the verification date. As expiration approaches:

  • WISEcode emails you a renewal reminder at 60, 30, and 7 days before expiration
  • Renewals require revalidating the product — the ingredient list and NFP must still match what was originally verified
  • If a product has been reformulated, the renewal triggers a fresh verification, not a simple renewal

Expired shields lose on-pack usage rights. Keep your renewal calendar visible inside Portfolio.

Common questions

Can I earn the shield for a discovered product? No. Only claimed products are eligible. Claim first, validate, then verify.

What if my packaging is already printed without the shield — can I add it to the next print run? Yes. The shield's most common placement is the next packaging refresh. Many brands add the digital shield to website and social first, then add it to packaging on the next print cycle.

Does the shield cover all my products automatically? No. Each product is verified individually, even within a product line. Some flavors may qualify while others don't.

Can I display the shield without WISEcode's approval? No. The Non-UPF Verified Shield is a registered mark — usage requires an active verification. See the Usage Guidelines for on-pack and digital placement rules.

What happens immediately after I pay? Verification completes in-flow at the moment of payment. Your shield assets, certificate PDFs, and digital usage kit appear in Portfolio right away — no waiting period.

Can a product be rejected from verification? No. Only Pre-Qualified products are eligible to enter the verification flow, so there's no concept of submission and rejection. A product that doesn't meet the Non-UPF standard simply won't appear in your Pre-Qualified list. To make it eligible, reformulate and the platform will automatically re-evaluate.

Next steps

Need help?

For toolkit access, asset specifications, or shield usage questions, submit a request and a member of the WISEcode team will get back to you.

Comments

0 comments

Please sign in to leave a comment.