Category: Industry Update

  • Sunrise 2027: Why the Barcode You’ve Used for 50 Years Is Being Replaced

    Sunrise 2027: Why the Barcode You’ve Used for 50 Years Is Being Replaced

    5 minute read

    In 1974, a pack of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit became the first product ever scanned at retail using a barcode. For the next 50 years, the 1D barcode (those familiar vertical lines) became the universal language of global commerce.

    That era is ending. GS1, the standards body that governs barcodes, has set 2027 as the global retail transition date from 1D to 2D codes. The initiative is called Sunrise 2027, and it requires every point-of-sale system worldwide to read 2D codes by then.

    Several major retailers are already ahead of schedule. For packaging teams, this is an active project, not a future consideration.

    Why the 1D barcode is being retired

    A traditional barcode encodes a Global Trade Item Number (GTIN) in a linear EAN or UPC format. It does one thing: identify the product. Scan it, get a number, look up the product in a database. For checkout and basic inventory, this has been enough.

    Modern commerce demands more. Consumers want to know origin, recall status, allergens, and disposal instructions.

    Brands want serialised tracking, dynamic engagement, and recall precision. Retailers want freshness automation and compliance reporting.A 1D barcode holds about 20 characters of data. That is the entire ceiling. Everything else has to live in a backend system, accessible only to those with the right credentials.

    What 2D codes make possible

    A standard QR code holds several hundred times more data than a 1D barcode. The capacity is the easy part. The bigger shift is the GS1 Digital Link, a standardised URL structure that turns a QR code into a gateway to dynamic, audience-specific information.

    One QR code on a pack can serve different data to different scanners:

    • A consumer with a smartphone sees product info, allergens, sustainability credentials
    • A retailer at checkout gets GTIN, price lookup, loyalty integration
    • A logistics operator gets batch number, expiry date, traceability
    • A regulator gets the full compliance record

    Marketing teams can update digital content without reprinting packaging. Recalls can be precise to individual units. Country-specific information can be served dynamically. Sustainability stories surface at the moment of consumer engagement without cluttering the design.

    The pitfalls are real

    None of this means the transition is straightforward. Five challenges are worth understanding before you start.

    Print quality and verification

    Linear barcodes tolerate imperfect printing. QR codes do not. Print defects, substrate variations, varnish effects, and color contrast all matter more. Every packaging format (flexible film, corrugated, glass, metal) has its own verification challenges.

    Symbology selection

    QR codes are the consumer-facing standard, but the 2D landscape also includes Data Matrix codes (common in pharma and logistics), PDF417, and Aztec. Brands operating across sectors need a clear policy on which codes go where.

    Dual-code transition periods

    Through 2027 and beyond, many brands will need both a 1D and a 2D code on the same pack. Managing layout, regulatory clearances, and data consistency across two codes on every SKU multiplies the workload.

    Data governance

    A 1D barcode links to a static database record. A GS1 Digital Link QR links to a live digital resource that can and should be updated. An outdated or broken link on a product already in market is not just a poor experience. It can be a compliance failure.

    Consumer literacy

    Most consumers know QR codes link to digital content, but not everyone scans, and not everyone trusts what they find. Designing a QR-linked experience that adds genuine value (rather than checking a marketing box) requires content strategy investment.

    How a packaging management hub helps

    Managing GS1 Digital Link QR codes is not a design task. It requires coordination across regulatory data, supply chain identifiers, digital content, and brand guidelines, applied reliably across hundreds or thousands of SKUs.

    Sunrise 2027 is the starting line, not the finish line

    Treating Sunrise 2027 as a deadline (get QR codes in place, ensure POS compatibility, move on) underestimates what is actually happening.

    This is a structural change in how packaging connects products to the broader data ecosystem. The 2027 deadline starts the new infrastructure. It does not end it.

    Organizations that recognize this early, and treat the QR transition as an opportunity to build better data governance rather than a compliance box to tick, will be positioned for everything that comes next: dynamic regulatory environments, transparency demands, traceability requirements, and the EU Digital Product Passport.

    The barcode that scanned chewing gum in 1974 served its purpose. The technology replacing it can do far more. But only for organisations that build the right foundation.

    PAQR generates GS1-compliant 2D codes alongside your full packaging data set. One platform, one source of truth, ready for Sunrise 2027 and what comes after. Click “Try now for free” on paqr.com to start a free trial.

  • The Recyclability Paradox: Why the Holy Grail of Packaging Engineering Keeps Moving

    The Recyclability Paradox: Why the Holy Grail of Packaging Engineering Keeps Moving

    6 minute read

    For the modern packaging developer, the last decade has reshaped the brief. We have moved from “barrier at all costs” and shelf-appeal optimisation to a world where end-of-life dictates the very first design decision.

    But there is a painful truth that the public, and even many regulators, rarely grasp: recyclability is not a property of a material. It is a property of a system.

    This post covers why the momentum behind recyclability has accelerated, why “recyclable” is a moving target, and how packaging developers can navigate the assessment landscape.

    Why recyclability has reached this moment

    The regulatory hammer

    The transition from the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Directive (PPWD) to the Regulation (PPWR) turned guidelines into law. By 2030, all packaging on the EU market must be recyclable at scale. Voluntary commitments became mandatory compliance, which forced companies from pilot projects into full portfolio overhauls.

    EPR fees that actually bite

    Extended Producer Responsibility fees are now eco-modulated. In France (CITEO) and Italy (CONAI), a pouch with a non-compatible barrier or carbon-black pigment that disrupts NIR sorting attracts much higher fees. Highly recyclable mono-materials get bonuses. For an FMCG company at scale, those differentials translate into millions of euros per year.

    Investor pressure

    Institutional investors now treat un-recyclable portfolios as stranded asset risk. If a primary revenue stream depends on a format that will be banned or heavily taxed within five years, that is a financial liability. Recyclability has moved from the marketing department to the CFO’s office.

    Why deterministic recyclability is a myth

    A 100% PE pouch is not automatically recyclable just because it is polyethylene. The devil is in the components: the inks, adhesives, closures, and residual contents.

    Functionality versus circularity

    Packaging exists to protect the product. For decades we solved that with complexity:

    • PA/PE for puncture resistance and gas barrier
    • PET/Alu/PE for total light and moisture protection
    • PVDC coatings for exceptional oxygen barriers

    Each layer is a technical achievement and a recycling problem. PA in a PE stream causes gels and process instability. Alu foils trigger metal detectors or cause inclusions. The challenge for today’s developer is hitting 95% of that performance with mono-material families or functional barriers the recycling system can tolerate.

    The sorting blind spot

    A package is only recyclable if it can be sorted. This is where chemistry meets mechanical engineering.

    • Size matters: items under 5cm often fall through trommel screens at Material Recovery Facilities and end up in residual waste.
    • NIR detection: Near-Infrared sorters identify polymers by reflected light spectrum. Dark pigments like carbon black absorb the signal, making the package invisible to the sorter.
    • 2D vs 3D: a flexible flat pouch may behave like paper in a wind sifter, even if it is plastic, and end up in the wrong stream.

    The “at scale” problem

    To be considered recyclable, a material needs collection, sorting, and recycling infrastructure covering a significant portion of the population. This creates a chicken-and-egg problem: recyclers will not invest in specialised lines for new mono-materials until volume exists, and developers will not switch to those materials until they are officially classified as recyclable.

    The assessment landscape

    There is no single global standard. Developers must navigate a patchwork of national methodologies, each measuring recyclability differently.

    RecyClass (Europe-wide, cross-industry)

    The most influential tool for plastic packaging today. Uses Design for Recycling guidelines and a grading system from A to F. Based on actual laboratory testing: if you want to know whether a new adhesive is compatible with the PE stream, RecyClass likely has a protocol for it. Looks at the entire pack (body, cap, label, ink) and determines if the resulting recycled polymer has high, medium, or low value.

    Germany’s Minimum Standard (Zentrale Stelle Verpackungsregister)

    One of the most rigorous definitions in Europe. Three pillars: collection (is there a path to the bin?), sortability (can it be detected and assigned to a fraction?), and recycling (no incompatibilities like certain EVOH layers or PETG in PET).

    COTREP (France)

    A collaboration between CITEO, Elipso, and SRP. Produces highly specific technical notices, like the exact percentage of EVOH allowed in a PE film before it loses its recyclable status in the French market.

    APR (Association of Plastic Recyclers, North America)

    Where Europe leans on the Precautionary Principle, APR focuses on the quality of the final recycled flake. The APR Design Guide is the gold standard in North America, using Critical Guidance testing where a package goes through a simulated recycling process to see whether it harms the resulting Post-Consumer Resin.

    How to design for a fragmented landscape

    Design for the strictest market

    Launching across EMEA means designing for the strictest assessment, usually Germany or France. If your pouch passes the German Minimum Standard, it will likely be accepted elsewhere.

    Embrace mono-materials, but validate

    Switching to mono-PE or mono-PP is the safest bet, but do not assume compatibility:

    • Barrier layers: limit EVOH to under 5% of total weight, ensure tie-layers are compatible.
    • Inks and adhesives: use washable or recycling-compatible systems.
    • Labels: match the label material to the container polymer or use floatable labels for PET bottles.

    Move from “recyclable” to “circular”

    The ultimate goal is not just a package that can be recycled, but one that contributes to high-quality recycled material. That means avoiding anything that downgrades the resulting feedstock. Moving from coloured PET to clear PET, for example, enables bottle-to-bottle recycling, the pinnacle of the circular economy.

    The expert’s mandate

    Recyclability is the most complex engineering challenge our industry has faced in 50 years. It demands more than material science. It demands systems thinking, an understanding of NIR laser wavelengths, washing medium densities, and twin-screw extruder chemistry.

    National assessment approaches provide a roadmap, but they are still evolving. The mandate for developers is to lead that evolution: design packaging that does not just pass the test, but actively feeds the machines that will build the next generation of materials.

    PAQR helps packaging teams centralise component data, supplier specifications, and assessment results in one workspace, ready for whichever methodology your market demands. Click “Try now for free” on paqr.com to start a free trial.