GS1 Sunrise: how to make your packaging 2D-ready

With GS1 Sunrise, the classic EAN barcode is moving step by step to a 2D code (QR code or Data Matrix). By 2027, retail checkout systems are expected to read both symbologies. That makes the 2D code the standard at the point of sale. For brands that means: packaging and artwork should be set up now so the switch later doesn't force an expensive redesign.

Why this is more than a new code

The classic EAN-13 carries exactly one piece of information: the GTIN. The 2D code carries as many as you like: batch, best-before, origin, a URL to structured product data. That shifts the effort from the pack into data management. Brands that keep product data central win; those that scatter it across emails and single files will experience the switch as a permanent construction site.

At the same time a new channel opens for shoppers: a scan at the shelf can surface recipes, allergen detail, sustainability proof or reorder functions. The code on the pack turns from a pure checkout tool into a doorway into the brand world.

Image AI-generated

What actually changes

Three layers are affected. All three should be planned together early on:

• Layout: plan space and placement for the 2D code early. A QR code needs a quiet zone and a minimum size; squeezing it into a finished artwork afterwards rarely looks good.
• Data: keep product information central (PIM/DAM) so the code points to a maintained source and not to a dead landing page.
• Compliance: legal marketability and mandatory declarations stay as they are. The 2D code is added on top and replaces none of it; mandatory information still has to be legible on the pack.

The code stays on the pack for years. The data behind it changes every month.

How to think about the timeline

A pragmatic roadmap separates the mandatory from the nice-to-have and rides on relaunches you're doing anyway:

• Short term: on every upcoming artwork update, reserve the 2D quiet zone now, even if the code doesn't go live yet.
• Medium term: decide the data source the code addresses (your own domain rather than a third-party shortlink) and clarify who maintains it.
• Long term: migrate the range step by step, starting with the highest-revenue and most frequently relaunched items.

Three common pitfalls

• The code points to a campaign URL that goes offline after six months. In print it stays in the market for years.
• Quiet zone and contrast are cut too tight; at the shelf the code isn't reliably scannable under film or in poor light.
• Data sits in silos; every change becomes a manual chain instead of a single update at one source.

What to do now

If you're planning relaunches anyway, build in 2D readiness: a layout that hosts the code and a data source that feeds it. Then the code is in place at the next print run instead of being retrofitted article by article.