Label Market Size and Share
Market Overview
| Study Period | 2019 - 2030 |
|---|---|
| Market Size (2025) | USD 47 Billion |
| Market Size (2030) | USD 61.5 Billion |
| Growth Rate (2025 - 2030) | 5.50% CAGR |
| Fastest Growing Market | Middle East and Africa |
| Largest Market | Asia Pacific |
| Market Concentration | Low |
Major Players
*Disclaimer: Major Players sorted in no particular order Image © Mordor Intelligence. Reuse requires attribution under CC BY 4.0. |
|
Label Market Analysis by Mordor Intelligence
Global label market size stands at USD 47 billion in 2025 and is forecast to climb to USD 61.5 billion by 2030, delivering a 5.5% CAGR during the period. This steady trajectory reflects the sector’s capacity to adjust to e-commerce expansion, sustainability regulations, and smart packaging adoption. Regulatory pressure for recyclable materials continues to push converters toward liner-less constructions and bio-based films, while retailers’ demand for real-time product authentication accelerates the shift toward connected packaging. Digital printing’s economics favor short runs and customization, raising margins despite its modest share of total output. Competitive momentum favors firms that can integrate RFID, NFC, and QR solutions at scale, turning labels into data touchpoints that enhance supply-chain visibility and consumer engagement. The convergence of these forces positions the label market for durable growth even as direct-to-container printing presents a substitution threat in specific beverage categories.
Key Report Takeaways
- By label type, the pressure-sensitive labels segment commanded 33% of the label market size in 2024.
- By printing technology, the digital printing segment is projected to expand at a 9.0% CAGR between 2025-2030.
- By end-user industry, the food and beverages industry held 34% of the label market share in 2024.
- By geography, the label market size for the Middle East and Africa is projected to post the fastest regional growth at a 5.3% CAGR between 2025-2030.
Global Label Market Trends and Insights
Drivers Impact Analysis
| Driver | (~) % Impact on CAGR Forecast | Geographic Relevance | Impact Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| E-commerce boom driving variable-data labels | +1.2% | Global, concentration in North America and APAC | Medium term (2-4 years) |
| Sustainability regulations favoring recyclability | +0.8% | European Union core, spreading to North America and APAC | Long term (≥ 4 years) |
| Compliance-driven premium F&B packaging | +0.7% | Global, led by developed markets | Short term (≤ 2 years) |
| Smart/connected packaging (QR, RFID) | +0.9% | North America and EU, with rapid APAC adoption | Medium term (2-4 years) |
| EV battery safety-label mandates | +0.4% | Global, early adoption in North America and EU | Medium term (2-4 years) |
| ASEAN label-free bottle pilots | +0.3% | ASEAN core, eventual global beverage influence | Long term (≥ 4 years) |
| Source: Mordor Intelligence | |||
E-commerce Boom Driving Variable-Data Shipping Labels
Worldwide parcel volume reached 21.7 billion in 2023 and is tracking toward 29 billion by 2029, pushing converters to supply labels capable of real-time, order-specific data. [1]Investor Relations, “Pitney Bowes Parcel Shipping Index,” pitneybowes.comDimensional-weight billing and omnichannel fulfillment require scannable graphics that survive automated sortation. Amazon’s 15.7% volume surge in 2023 underscores the scale of demand for durable thermal and pressure-sensitive constructions. Logistics providers prefer adhesives that remain tacky across diverse corrugated substrates, while brand owners seek layouts that accommodate late-stage customization. As a result, converters investing in high-speed digital presses capture the premium associated with quick-change print jobs, reinforcing e-commerce as a structural growth engine for the label market.
Sustainability Regulations Accelerating Liner-Less and Recyclable Formats
The EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation mandates 70% recyclability by weight by 2030, compelling redesign of face stocks, liners, and adhesives. [2]Avery Dennison, “Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation,” averydennison.com CELAB-Europe targets recycling of 75% of spent liners by 2025, pushing collection schemes beyond voluntary pilots. [3]FINAT, “Recycling,” finat.comExtended Producer Responsibility in U.S. states imposes fee differentials as high as 300% between compliant and non-compliant packaging, making sustainability a profit determinant. Converters responding with liner-less labels reduce waste by up to 40% and unlock logistics efficiencies. Material science advances, including bio-adhesives with 85% renewable content, ease the transition without sacrificing application speed, reinforcing the driver’s long-term impact on label market growth.
Food and Beverage Demand for Premium Compliance-Driven Packaging
The FDA established January 1, 2028, as the uniform compliance date for new food-label rules, triggering a coordinated redesign cycle across U.S. brands. Texas now requires warning labels on 44 additives banned abroad, highlighting the patchwork nature of state mandates. These overlapping rules favor digital processes that permit late-stage regulatory text substitutions without plate changes. In parallel, paper-based beverage packaging is gaining share in North America, demanding adhesives with improved moisture barriers, creating upsell opportunities for functional coatings. Heightened compliance complexity thereby sustains premium pricing for specialized labels, reinforcing food and beverage as the anchor segment of the label market.
Smart/Connected Packaging Opening New Revenue Streams
Walmart and other mass retailers now require RFID tagging on categories extending beyond apparel, unlocking data-service revenue for label converters equipped with inlay insertion lines. The anti-counterfeit packaging segment, valued at USD 154.6 billion in 2024, underscores the financial scale of security labels. QR codes extend brand storytelling and enable product-level analytics with negligible print cost. Thailand’s label-free bottle proposal integrates QR-based disclosure in place of wrap-around plastic. Collectively, these technologies shift labels from cost centers to connected assets, enlarging the addressable label market.
Restraints Impact Analysis
| Restraint | (~) % Impact on CAGR Forecast | Geographic Relevance | Impact Timeline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raw-material cost volatility | -0.6% | Global, acute in emerging markets | Short term (≤ 2 years) |
| Shift to stand-up pouches and direct printing | -0.4% | North America and EU, expanding worldwide | Medium term (2-4 years) |
| Limited liner-waste recycling infrastructure | -0.3% | Global, with gaps in developing nations | Long term (≥ 4 years) |
| Label-free bottle regulations reducing demand | -0.2% | ASEAN core, potential global adoption | Long term (≥ 4 years) |
| Source: Mordor Intelligence | |||
Raw-Material Cost Volatility
Petrochemical supply disruptions from hurricanes in the U.S. Gulf Coast have tightened feedstock availability for acrylics and polyolefins, lifting adhesive prices and extending lead times. Europe’s adhesives market, expected to reach EUR 22.2 billion by 2026, competes for the same inputs, squeezing smaller converters that lack purchasing leverage. To manage volatility, converters hold larger safety stocks, raising working-capital needs and pressuring earnings in the short term, thereby restraining label market expansion.
Shift Toward Stand-Up Pouches and Direct-to-Object Printing
Flexible pouches with integrated graphics reduce material usage and eliminate secondary labeling, attracting brands seeking cost savings and sustainability benefits. Domino’s cap-print technology shows beverage producers can cut costs by 5% while satisfying regulatory disclosure. As direct print speeds climb and unit economics improve, conversion away from wrap-around labels could accelerate, posing a medium-term headwind to the label market.
Segment Analysis
By Label Type: Sleeve Growth Outpaces but Pressure-Sensitive Retains Scale
Pressure-sensitive formats held 33% of the label market share in 2024, thanks to their versatility across food, personal care, and logistics applications. Sleeve products, although smaller in absolute terms, are projected to expand at an 8.8% CAGR as brand owners pursue 360-degree graphics and tamper evidence. This sleeve uptake lifts the label market size in premium beverages and nutraceuticals, while wrap-around formats encounter substitution risk from cap-print and embossing. Pressure-sensitive innovation continues with recyclable adhesives 35% lower carbon footprints help sustain share even as sustainability scrutiny intensifies. Consequently, a two-track pattern sets in: commodity beverages pivot to direct print, while premium SKUs adopt sophisticated sleeves, each path reinforcing differentiated value pools inside the global label market.
Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase
By Printing Technology: Digital Commands Outsized Economics
Flexography controlled 58% of the label market size in 2024 due to speed and cost advantages on runs above 50,000 linear meters. Digital inkjet and electrophotography, however, are pacing at 9.0% CAGR, securing 16% of revenue from just 4% of output. The economics hinge on software-driven job changeovers that slash downtime and enable SKU proliferation. Recent patents on composite black inks accelerate drying on porous substrates, boosting press throughput and lowering per-unit cost. [4]Justia Patents, “Inkjet Recording Method,” justia.com.Analog stalwarts gravure, offset, and screen retain niches such as foil-on-foil spirits labels and high-speed canning, yet investment trends unambiguously favor digital. Over the outlook period, converters that master hybrid press workflows capture both commodity scale and premium customization, deepening their penetration of the expanding label market.
By Material: Paper Leadership Meets Bio-Film Momentum
Paper and paperboard represented 48% of revenues in 2024 as consumer sentiment and retail recycling programs rewarded fiber-based packaging. The segment’s maturation, however, coincides with biofilm adoption projected at a 9.5% CAGR. Accredo’s sugarcane-resin pouch, sequestering 43 g of CO2 per pack, illustrates the performance parity bid on compostable substrates. PLA and cellophane overwraps, achieving ASTM D6868 compliance, underscore the technical strides being made. PVC continues to lose favor for environmental reasons, while PET’s superior barrier properties keep it relevant in cold-chain beverage uses. As Extended Producer Responsibility spreads, unit economics will shift toward materials that minimize fee exposure, increasing the bio-film slice of the label market.
Note: Segment shares of all individual segments available upon report purchase
By End-User Industry: Food & Beverage Anchors, Logistics Surges
Food and beverages captured 34% of label market share in 2024, anchored by stringent disclosure requirements and brand investment in shelf appeal. Parallel reforms under the FDA and state legislatures necessitate batch-level traceability, fostering high-specification demand. E-commerce and logistics labels, though smaller now, are growing at a 10.2% CAGR as parcel volumes climb. Pharmaceutical labeling complexity intensifies with QR-code serialization mandates in India, while personal care brands deploy textured varnishes and metallic foils for premium differentiation. Industrial and automotive labels, exposed to oils and heat, require specialty adhesives and heat-resistant inks, commanding premium prices and further expanding the label market size.
Geography Analysis
Asia-Pacific led with 45% of label market share in 2024, fueled by China’s scale and India’s growth in packaged foods. Government incentives for advanced manufacturing and the clustering of press-builders lower capital costs, encouraging capacity additions. Thailand’s and South Korea’s shifts toward labelless bottles illustrate how some APAC regulators leapfrog legacy practices, thereby shaping the global conversation on sustainable labeling.
Middle East and Africa, though only 6% of 2024 revenue, will post a 5.3% CAGR through 2030, propelled by food-processing investments and retail modernization. Mega-projects in Saudi Arabia’s NEOM and Egypt’s industrial zones spur corrugated and label demand, while African e-commerce platforms fuel shipping-label growth. Limited liner recycling infrastructure, however, keeps liner-less solutions nascent, offering upside for suppliers exporting turnkey technologies into the region.
North America remains the technological bellwether, home to over 2,000 converters and a deep installed base of digital presses. RFID mandates at Walmart and the proliferation of direct-fulfillment warehouses intensify demand for smart labels. Europe, while mature, continues to set the regulatory pace on recyclability, driving adoption of wash-off adhesives and mono-material solutions. South America rebounds as macro conditions stabilize; Brazil’s beverage giants adopt sleeves for flavored-water SKUs, widening product breadth. Collectively, cross-regional dynamics reinforce a balanced yet opportunity-rich landscape for the global label market.
Competitive Landscape
The label market exhibits moderate fragmentation: more than 2,000 North American converters coexist with global leaders deploying multi-currency acquisition strategies. Avery Dennison claims roughly 40% of global pressure-sensitive raw-material capacity, leveraging RFID inlay leadership to bundle hardware and data services. CCL Industries posted USD 7.2 billion in 2024 sales, buoyed by 9% topline growth and double-digit gains in its Innovia and Checkpoint units. Private-equity interest persists: the stable cash flow and recession resilience of label converters suit roll-up strategies that promise procurement synergies.
Technology investment remains the decisive moat. Firms patenting liner-less die-cutting and embedded micro-taggants enjoy pricing power. USPTO filings reveal a sharp uptick in security-label innovations, underscoring the pivot from commodity decoration to data-rich packaging. Concurrently, converters integrate L4S (Label for Simple) frameworks that harmonize prepress across analog and digital platforms, allowing two-shift plants to execute 20% more jobs without adding presses.
M&A momentum is expected to continue as regional players seek scale to fund sustainability upgrades and secure raw-material allocations. Those lacking capital risk marginalization as brand owners consolidate supplier bases and tie label procurement to ESG scorecards. Hence, the label market favors companies with global footprints, innovation pipelines, and data-enabled products, while niche specialists survive on regulatory know-how or proprietary chemistries.
Label Industry Leaders
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Multi-Color Corporation
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Huhtamaki Group
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CCL Industries
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Avery Dennison Corporation
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Constantia Flexibles GmbH
- *Disclaimer: Major Players sorted in no particular order
Recent Industry Developments
- August 2025: Ciner Glass secured EUR 504 million to build a container-glass facility in Lommel, Belgium, adding 1,300 metric tons per day of capacity.
- June 2025: Tetra Pak and Cayuga Milk Ingredients invested USD 270 million in a New York dairy facility, introducing advanced aseptic packaging lines.
- February 2025: CCL Industries reported record 2024 revenue of USD 7.2 billion with 9% growth.
- January 2025: Avery Dennison announced 2024 net sales of USD 8.8 billion, highlighting RFID’s expansion in grocery.
- January 2025: Faller Packaging opened a new folding-carton site in Gebesee, Germany, focused on pharma demand.
Global Label Market Report Scope
Labels are used for packaging show the contents, product specifications, contact information, health and safety warnings and directions for usage, and for any extra marketing, branding, or price information.
The study tracks the demand for the label market. The key segments covered in the study include segmentation by type ( Pressure-Sensitive Label,Shrink & Stretch Sleeve Label, In-Mold Label, Wet Glue Label, Thermal Transfer Label, Wrap Around Label ) and end-user (Food & Beverages, Pharmaceutical & Healthcare). The study analyzes the impact of COVID-19 on the overall supply chain and the effect on the demand side market dynamics. Market estimates indicate the revenue in USD Million.
| Pressure-Sensitive Labels |
| Shrink and Stretch Sleeves |
| In-Mold Labels |
| Wet-Glue Labels |
| Thermal-Transfer Labels |
| Wrap-Around Labels |
| Flexography |
| Gravure |
| Offset |
| Digital (Inkjet and Electrophotographic) |
| Screen and Other Analog |
| Paper and Paperboard |
| PVC |
| PET |
| PE and PP |
| Bio-based and Compostable Films |
| Food and Beverages |
| Pharmaceutical and Healthcare |
| Personal Care and Cosmetics |
| Retail and Logistics |
| Industrial and Automotive |
| North America | United States | |
| Canada | ||
| Mexico | ||
| South America | Brazil | |
| Argentina | ||
| Rest of South America | ||
| Europe | Germany | |
| United Kingdom | ||
| France | ||
| Italy | ||
| Spain | ||
| Russia | ||
| Rest of Europe | ||
| Asia-Pacific | China | |
| Japan | ||
| India | ||
| South Korea | ||
| Australia and New Zealand | ||
| Rest of Asia-Pacific | ||
| Middle East and Africa | Middle East | UAE |
| Turkey | ||
| Saudi Arabia | ||
| Africa | South Africa | |
| Nigeria | ||
| Rest of Africa | ||
| By Label Type | Pressure-Sensitive Labels | ||
| Shrink and Stretch Sleeves | |||
| In-Mold Labels | |||
| Wet-Glue Labels | |||
| Thermal-Transfer Labels | |||
| Wrap-Around Labels | |||
| By Printing Technology | Flexography | ||
| Gravure | |||
| Offset | |||
| Digital (Inkjet and Electrophotographic) | |||
| Screen and Other Analog | |||
| By Material | Paper and Paperboard | ||
| PVC | |||
| PET | |||
| PE and PP | |||
| Bio-based and Compostable Films | |||
| By End-User Industry | Food and Beverages | ||
| Pharmaceutical and Healthcare | |||
| Personal Care and Cosmetics | |||
| Retail and Logistics | |||
| Industrial and Automotive | |||
| By Geography | North America | United States | |
| Canada | |||
| Mexico | |||
| South America | Brazil | ||
| Argentina | |||
| Rest of South America | |||
| Europe | Germany | ||
| United Kingdom | |||
| France | |||
| Italy | |||
| Spain | |||
| Russia | |||
| Rest of Europe | |||
| Asia-Pacific | China | ||
| Japan | |||
| India | |||
| South Korea | |||
| Australia and New Zealand | |||
| Rest of Asia-Pacific | |||
| Middle East and Africa | Middle East | UAE | |
| Turkey | |||
| Saudi Arabia | |||
| Africa | South Africa | ||
| Nigeria | |||
| Rest of Africa | |||
Key Questions Answered in the Report
What value will the label market reach by 2030?
The label market size is projected to hit USD 61.5 billion by 2030, expanding at a 5.5% CAGR from 2025.
Which segment is growing fastest within printing technologies?
Digital printing is forecast to deliver a 9.0% CAGR thanks to short-run economics and variable-data capability.
Why is Middle East and Africa registering the highest regional growth?
Infrastructure upgrades and diversification into packaged foods are pushing the region toward a 5.3% CAGR through 2030.
How are sustainability rules influencing material selection?
EU and U.S. EPR fees favor liner-less and bio-based films, prompting converters to redesign adhesives and face stocks.
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