Sunrise 2027: How the Little 2D Square on Food Packaging Will Trigger an Industry Revolution

You may have noticed black-and-white stripes on grocery items quietly giving way to a compact square that holds a lot more information. This is not a cosmetic update — it is part of a coordinated global transition led by GS1 known as Sunrise 2027. For food and packaging professionals, this change is far more consequential than a simple barcode swap.

GQ PACK, a custom flexible food packaging manufacturer, can tell that it is the start of a digital overhaul of product identity, supply-chain operations, and consumer engagement. Understanding and adopting Sunrise 2027 is a strategic imperative for companies that want to maintain traceability, compliance, and competitive advantage.

Why Food Packaging Must Pay Attention to Sunrise 2027

At its core, Sunrise 2027 requires retail Point-of-Sale (POS) systems to support a 2D barcode on products by the end of 2027. This timeframe creates an operational deadline for manufacturers, brands, and converters to ensure packaging is QR/Data Matrix ready — and the implications are particularly significant for the food sector:

• Food safety and precision traceability
  Traditional linear barcodes (e.g., EAN-13) simply carry a product identifier. A GS1-compliant two-dimensional code can contain batch numbers, exact best-before dates, production line IDs and origin data. In a contamination or recall event, brands can use that embedded data to target a single affected batch and execute a narrow, rapid recall — minimizing risk, legal exposure and brand damage.
• Meeting consumer information expectations
  Modern shoppers demand transparency: ingredient provenance, allergen info, certifications, sustainability metrics, and carbon footprints. A 2D code becomes a compact gateway to rich content—nutrition tables, sourcing stories, and certification documents—without cluttering the pack face. Studies show that a substantial majority of consumers prefer products that provide accessible, verifiable information; the 2D code makes that scalable.
• Supply-chain and operational efficiency
  In warehousing and logistics, “one-scan” data capture is transformative. A single 2D scan can simultaneously register item identity, lot data, and quantities, accelerating receiving, inventory count, and shipment validation while reducing human error and associated costs.

Challenges and Responses: How Packaging Converters and Brands Must Evolve Together

This transition is not without friction. Packaging suppliers and brand teams will face three principal challenges — print & process, data integration, and design fusion — and each requires coordinated mitigation.

1. Printing and process challenges

2D codes demand high print fidelity. Distortion, low contrast, and surface curvature (on bags, pouches, and cylinders) undermine scannability. High-gloss films, metallized panels, and dark backgrounds amplify the risk.

Response: Early material compatibility testing. Work with converters to qualify substrates, ink, and print positions. Introduce inline verification (camera-based quality checks) and standardized print verification protocols to ensure first-pass readability on high-speed lines.

2. Data and systems integration

Encoding dynamic production data (batch, time-stamp, line ID) into each code and maintaining a trusted link between physical pack and enterprise datasets (ERP, MES, WMS) is an IT project as much as a packaging one.

Response: Map the end-to-end data flow before printing. Implement robust middleware or APIs to bind production metadata to each unique code, and maintain audit trails. Pilot small product lines to stress-test the data pipeline and align formats with retail partners’ ingestion requirements.

3. Design integration

Brand teams worry that codes will disrupt visual design or reduce shelf impact.

Response: Involve packaging design early. Explore creative placement, framed clearzones, or brand-anchored micro-content that appears when the code is scanned. Standardize a set of layout templates that balance scanner-readability with brand aesthetics.

Sunrise 2027 Is the Gateway to Smart Packaging

Beyond traceability and compliance, the 2D code is an access point to intelligent packaging use cases:

• Interactive consumer experiences: reward programs, recipe suggestions, provenance storytelling, and anti-counterfeiting checks.
• Data-driven marketing: anonymized scan analytics can reveal purchase geography and consumption patterns for sharper demand planning.
• IoT and cold-chain integration: codes can link to sensor logs (temperature, humidity) recorded during transport to provide verified quality histories.
• Regulatory and sustainability reporting: packaged data facilitates automated reporting for regulators and retailers.

Viewed strategically, the shift to 2D codes is not a compliance burden — it is the enabling technology for a digital product lifecycle.

Practical Steps to Prepare for the 2027 Deadline

With the clock ticking, here are concrete actions packaging suppliers and brand owners should begin now:

1. Start diagnostics and planning — audit existing SKUs, determine which products must carry expanded data elements (lot, line, expiry), and map current in-line coding capabilities.
2. Run pilot projects — pick one or two representative SKUs and execute an end-to-end pilot with your converter and retail partner, including print tests, scan validation, and data handoff.
3. Engage retailers early — confirm each major retail partner’s technical requirements and timelines so your upgrade plan aligns with their POS readiness.
4. Turn compliance into differentiation — consider how the 2D code can host value-adding content (sourcing stories, certifications, loyalty) and integrate these into packaging design and marketing plans.

Schlussfolgerung

Sunrise 2027 marks the dawn of a new era for packaged goods. For food businesses, the migration from linear barcodes to GS1-compliant 2D codes is far more than a technical update — it is a platform for enhanced food safety, supply-chain resilience, and consumer engagement. Brands that begin planning today — testing materials, upgrading data flows, and piloting use cases — will not only meet the compliance deadline but also unlock new commercial and operational advantages. Embracing this change now is a measured investment in trust, transparency, and future-ready packaging.

For more details on GS1’s program and technical guidelines, see GS1’s website: https://www.gs1.org/ and GS1 Hong Kong: https://www.gs1hk.org/zh-cn.