North America Print Label Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

North America Print Label Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The North American print label market was valued at USD 8,813.41 million in 2021, and is expected to reach USD 10,905.35 million by 2027, registering a CAGR of 3.59% during the period of 2022-2027 (henceforth, referred to as the forecast period). The combination of digital technology with the existing label printing technique will bring a massive change to all the small-scale and large-scale sectors, improving the overall market.

• The evolution of digital print technology is making strong inroads into the print label market at a much faster pace due to its cost-effectiveness and professional, high-quality printing in industrial-size digital presses. With the evolution of new digital technologies, such as UV inkjet and water-based inkjet, digital print technology is becoming more advanced. As the technology continues to improve further, printers find new ways in utilizing the technology to enhance productive print labels, due to which the market is expected to grow lucratively during the forecast period.
• The digital printing technology demand has been witnessing a positive demand across the end-user industry sectors, such as in food, beverages, consumer goods, and pharmaceuticals. The demand has been boosted by the continued rise in the levels of order quantity, having lower inventory on the supplier side, lesser lead time to meet the ordered quantity, and lower cost. The combination of digital technology with the existing label printing technique will bring a massive change to all the small-scale and large-scale sectors, improving the overall market.
• Label application problems are mostly caused by environmental conditions, namely temperature and humidity. If possible, applying the labels only in dry, room-temperature conditions can be preserved. However, it is not always possible to avoid extreme temperatures or humidity, such as in winter, summer, and cold warehouses.
• Print label, once stuck into the surface, must withstand the different temperature conditions it goes through. Not all, but some labels are specially designed to withstand different temperatures, such as labels on hazardous chemicals, labels on cold chain products, among others. Most of the labels are made of paper and film face stocks. Paper film stocks are more susceptible to the elements as compared to specialty films. For example, the paper is not waterproof. Some stocks are made with wet strength paper that slows the penetration of water, but even those would eventually become saturated.
• Packaging and label segments are considerably stable in the COVID-19 period, owing to the increasing demand for food and pharmaceutical packaging. The COVID-19 outbreak disrupted the supply chain across various end-user industries such as food & beverage, healthcare, industrial, among others. The pandemic created unprecedented challenges for supply chain and logistics management in the last few months. Products that include canned food, toilet paper, sanitizers and cleaning supplies have witnessed a significant rise in demand, while other end-use sectors have slowed dramatically.

• The packaging industry is the primary user of the print label for providing the customers with the necessary information about the product and promoting the brand of the product. For instance, according to The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), packaged and processed food items must have nutritional labeling that makes labeling important. Digital printing technology demand has been experiencing real demand across the end-user industry sectors, such as in food, beverages, consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, etc. With the increasing penetration of organized retail formats, such as supermarkets and hypermarkets, and e-commerce, the processed and packaged food market is currently exhibiting strong growth. This is aiding the growth of the print label market.
• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a new policy to provide flexibility for food manufacturers and restaurants that have products on hand that are not labeled for retail sale (i.e., labeled for food service). To facilitate food distribution during the COVID-19 pandemic, the FDA released a guidance document, which allows restaurants and food manufacturers to sell food products without nutrition labeling under certain circumstances. Food labeling is required for most prepared foods, such as bread, cereals, canned and frozen foods, snacks, desserts, drinks, etc. Nutrition labeling for raw produce, including fruits, vegetables, and fish, is voluntary. Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) provided similar flexibility for FSIS regulated products last week.
• To maintain the highest levels of product safety and ensure a low environmental footprint of inks, several players have been introducing better quality inks. Siegwerk, a leading provider of printing inks in the region, launched its new, low migration U.V. offset ink range Sicura Litho NutriEco. This ink is well-suited for the Food and Beverage Industry and has a shallow carbon footprint. Apart from enhancing the performance of printing, U.V. cured inks are migration-compliant and hence are ideal for U.V. flexo food packaging and label applications. Sun Chemical, a US-based company, launched SolarVerse, a range of highly pigmented, low viscosity, multipurpose U.V. flexo base concentrates that are ideal for labeling food materials.
• According to the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, the revenue in the food market in the U.S. is estimated to be USD 702,061 million in 2020. Processed and perishable foods hold a significant share in the current Food market scenario and are expected to drive the market in the foreseen period. As most processed food manufacturers use printed labels for their products, it is expected to give a considerable surge in its demand in the food industry. Furthermore, the COVID-19 impact on the food industry has been favorable. According to the monthly sales data from the U.S. Census Bureau, unadjusted retail sales at food and beverage stores witnessed a 30% increase from February to March of 2020 and a 26% increase over comparable sales in March 2019.

• The United States Print Labels Market has been experiencing consolidation due to the reduced profit margins, shorter lead times, and converters having trouble finding skilled workers to operate their respective presses. The market is also experiencing a renewed focus from the European players who want to leverage the growth potential that the labels market of the country offers. The label manufacturers in the US experience most of the demand from the food and beverage segments. For instance, Ritrama has developed a new matt effect polyethylene film codenamed PE Smart Matt, explicitly designed to create high-impact labels for the food, beverage, and personal care sectors. The considerable growth of private label beverage sales is expected to impact the market positively.
• Most of this growth is experienced due to the growing demand for smart labels that facilitates the disbursement of information for both consumers and manufacturers. Raley's shelf guide program initiated in California helps shoppers identify what ingredients, food processing methods, and nutrition offered are indicative of this trend. The Food Safety Modernization Act mandates Consumer packaged goods (CPG) to be able to, at minimum, identify the immediate supplier and recipient (other than retailers to consumers) of a product to monitor the path of their products. The increasing use of NFC and RFID technology by retailers to track customers' experiences to customize their offerings is also expected to expand the need for smart labels further.
• Due to a lot of innovation by a prominent player in the region, the market is getting volatile. For instance, Digimarc, a company based in Beaverton, Oregon, launched the Digimarc Platform featuring the Digimarc Barcode, which is a method to enhance objects and media of all kinds, including printed products, with a digital watermark that's invisible to the human eye, but can be detected by smartphones, computers and barcode scanners.
• Healthcare products would continue to increase hand sanitizer labels, warning labels, drugs, & vaccines labels. Such trends are driving manufacturers to move to printed labels, thereby driving the demand. In January 2021, RFID-specialists, eAgile Inc. of Grand Rapids, United States, invested in the new Nilpeter FA-17 to meet process needs within their pharmaceutical & nutraceutical portfolios
• In January 2020, Epson America, Inc. introduced the new TM-L90II LFC thermal label printer at the NRF 2020 Retail's Big Show. The TM-L90II LFC is a flexible label printer that supports 40-, 58- and 80mm full media for flexible printing options. Replacing the TM-L90 Plus LFC models, this flexible and adaptable thermal label printer supports liner-free printing and receipt printing and features a back-feed functionality and label-taken sensor. It enables merchants in the QSR and fast-casual segments to fastly print order details and add appropriate labels to orders. So, foodservice operators can ensure that the correct order is delivered to the right consumer. It benefits retailers and hospitality merchants alike in improving order accuracy and efficiencies.

The North America print label market is highly competitive with the presence of significant players such as Fort Dearborn Company, Mondi Group, Avery Dennison Corporation, CCL Industries, Inc., etc. The companies are increasing their presence in the market by introducing new offerings or entering into strategic partnerships or acquisitions.

• March 2022 - Avery Dennison Corporation, a global materials science company specializing in the design and manufacture of a wide variety of labeling and functional materials, has acquired the linerless label technology developed by Catchpoint Ltd, a UK company based in Yorkshire, England.
• June 2021 - Mondi partnered with German adhesive label company VPF to create the global first sustainable release liner range made from recycled paper, the first commercial application of its paper-based EverLiner M R.

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