FMCG SMEs: How to Prepare Your Packaging for 2D Barcodes Before the 2027 Retail Shift

01 · Start with the real requirement

What is actually changing in 2027?

GS1 calls the initiative Ambition 2027, sometimes called Sunrise 2027. Its initial goal is for retail POS systems globally to be capable of reading and processing both existing barcodes and the newer GS1-compliant 2D options by the end of 2027. The official GS1 2D Barcodes at Retail Point-of-Sale Implementation Guideline describes a transition that gives brands, retailers and solution providers time to update processes and systems.

The linear retail barcode is not scheduled to disappear automatically. GS1's guidance says a 2D barcode cannot immediately become the only on-pack retail barcode while global scanning capability remains incomplete. During the transition, a product that adopts a retail 2D barcode generally also needs its POS linear barcode. Even after widespread adoption, a brand may choose 2D only, dual marking or linear only where the applicable standards and trading partners permit it.

This distinction protects an SME from two expensive mistakes: scrapping usable packaging merely to appear early, and removing a working EAN-13 before customers can process the replacement. The practical question is not “How quickly can we print a QR code?” It is “How can the next packaging change improve readiness without creating avoidable cost or risk?”

For an India-based SME, the practical trigger may be a named modern-trade customer or export buyer, a printer preparing the next artwork, or a software provider proposing a workflow—not Ambition 2027 by itself. A kirana-led brand with no identified buyer or regulatory requirement should not assume it has the same timetable as an export or modern-trade supplier. Confirm the channel need before changing artwork.

02 · Name the code correctly

An ordinary marketing QR and a QR Code using GS1 Digital Link URI syntax are not the same

A normal QR code can open a homepage, social profile, catalogue, registration form, warranty page or promotion. That may be useful marketing, but it does not automatically make a product ready for GS1-based retail identification.

A GS1 Digital Link URI expresses a GS1 identifier, such as a GTIN, in a standard web-compatible form. When encoded in an appropriate QR Code, the identifier can be read by GS1-aware systems while an ordinary phone can follow the URI to online information. The GS1 India Digital Link overview describes uses including product details, certifications, nutritional information, instructions, batch data and date information. The exact capabilities still depend on the data encoded, the destination service, the scanning software and trading-partner readiness.

Code comparisonScroll sideways to compare purpose and operating requirements

Two different flowsSwipe sideways to compare both paths

Original GreyBath educational diagram based on the cited GS1 standards; no barcode shown is intended for scanning.

Neither choice is automatically superior. A campaign QR can remain appropriate for a campaign. The important control is that teams stop treating every square black-and-white symbol as interchangeable.

03 · Define the business outcome

Choose the use case before choosing the symbol

GS1's retail guideline recommends choosing data and implementation according to the business use case. Each extra data element creates a responsibility to generate, print, store, process and maintain it correctly. Do not add serialisation because another company uses it.

A snack manufacturer may begin with product identity and nutrition. A short-shelf-life product may later justify date information. A recall or authenticity objective needs more than a symbol: the company needs reliable backend records that connect the code to the item, batch or event being investigated. A QR code alone neither proves authenticity nor creates traceability.

04 · Clean the identity layer

Start with products and GTINs, not artwork

Confirm that every active product and variant is mapped to the correct current GTIN before any designer changes a pack. Product families often differ by flavour, size, pack weight, bundle quantity, packaging format, market or promotional configuration. A 2D barcode cannot repair an unclear product master.

Product mapGive every active sellable variant an accountable record

GS1 India is the authorised GS1 Member Organisation in India for allocating identifiers that begin with 890. That prefix identifies the Member Organisation that allocated the number; it does not prove where a product was manufactured, and an Indian business may legitimately use a number allocated through another GS1 Member Organisation. GS1's official answer on barcode prefixes and country of origin explains this distinction.

If old products, copied artwork or historic allocations create uncertainty, resolve the ownership and identity first. Do not build a newer data carrier on an unverified product master.

05 · Design the data model

Separate static product data from variable production data

A product contains information that changes rarely and information that can change for every manufacturing run or unit. That difference determines whether the 2D symbol can be fixed in the artwork or must be produced by a variable-data process.

Use Application Identifiers precisely

GS1 Application Identifiers, or AIs, define the meaning and format of data elements. They are not interchangeable labels. The official GS1 Application Identifier reference defines, among others:

AI (01)

Global Trade Item Number (GTIN), expressed as 14 digits in GS1 AI and Digital Link contexts.

AI (10)

Batch or lot number.

AI (15)

Best-before date: the quality date, not a synonym for expiry.

AI (17)

Expiration or use-by date.

AI (21)

Serial number for an individual item.

A product-level identity URI can conceptually remain fixed. Adding AI (10), (15), (17) or (21) changes the data at batch or unit level and therefore changes the code that must be printed. A company with preprinted pouches cannot permanently place next month's batch or expiry inside the original artwork. It may need inline coding, controlled pre-generation or a packaging supplier capable of variable printing. The right method depends on production volume, material, line equipment, verification and reconciliation controls.

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06 · Protect current checkout

Keep the existing linear barcode during the transition

For most retail FMCG pilots, dual marking is the safer starting point: keep the established EAN/UPC symbol and add a compliant 2D symbol. Both must represent the same product identity. Do not accidentally encode one GTIN in the linear barcode and another in the 2D code.

Record the answer by partner and location where relevant. A scanner may be capable of imaging a QR Code while the POS software is unable to parse the GS1 Digital Link URI, capture the GTIN or use additional data. Hardware, scanner configuration, POS software, item master and transaction logic all matter. In a dual-marked test, the two symbols should carry the same GTIN and the POS should recognise one item once; placement and configuration must avoid an unintended second scan.

The GS1 retail guideline says that until 2D capability is sufficiently widespread, a retail 2D symbol on pack needs the accompanying linear POS barcode. It also warns that not all imaging scanners will satisfy the 2027 ambition. Treat retailer validation as evidence, not an assumption based on whether a phone or payment app can scan the square pattern.

07 · Separate identity from content

When using GS1 Digital Link, build a persistent identity URI and maintain its destination

A common packaging mistake is encoding a temporary campaign page directly, such as example.com/promotion-october-2026. The campaign ends while packs remain in shops, leaving a code that scans to a dead or irrelevant page.

When the selected carrier and syntax use GS1 Digital Link, the standard allows a company-controlled domain and identifies the GTIN through the AI (01) path. A conceptual product-level identity URI is:

The persistent identity URI should redirect to a maintained resource, for example https://www.yourbrand.example/products/tomato-sauce-500g. The physical code can remain stable while the destination content is updated. The official GS1 Digital Link quick-start guide explains that the encoded identity URI should not simply be treated as the product page URL and emphasises the importance of redirection.

A GS1-conformant resolver can return different resources or link types for the same identified item, but it is not mandatory for every simple implementation. GS1's current online technologies guidance distinguishes the identity URI, redirection, linksets and resolvers. Start with an architecture the business can keep online; add resolver capability when several audiences or machine-readable resources justify it.

Domain control matters because packaging can circulate for years. Record who owns the domain, DNS account, redirect configuration and content destination, and what happens if the website platform or agency changes.

08 · Avoid premature complexity

You do not automatically need custom software

A brand with 20 SKUs and fixed product-level information may be able to begin with a controlled product spreadsheet or existing product master, maintained pages in its current CMS and, when using Digital Link, persistent identity URIs. Custom development becomes more relevant when information comes from several systems, codes vary by batch or unit, or traceability workflows must connect production, ERP, logistics, retailers and consumer services.

DataKart is one official option, not a mandatory prerequisite for GS1 Digital Link. Compare it with the systems and processes the company already operates. A symbol without the required records and controls will not create reliable traceability, recall management or proof of authenticity.

Treat DataKart or another product-data service and any brand-controlled redirect or resolver as separate choices. Use the data platform for the fields and workflows it is approved to govern; keep the URI domain, DNS, redirect mappings, consumer-facing content, data export and supplier-exit controls with named owners unless the chosen contract explicitly covers them. Avoid conflicting copies across DataKart, ERP, spreadsheets and the website by naming one approved source and owner for each field.

09 · Approve data and print

Make 2D data part of packaging quality

Packaging approval already checks artwork, spelling, price declarations, ingredients, nutrition, colour and statutory information. A richer data carrier adds two questions: does the symbol contain the intended identity and attributes, and does it work on the actual package?

Packaging approvalRecord an owner and evidence for every critical check

Test the printed proof, not only the PDF

A code can work on a designer's monitor and fail on a pouch or bottle. Reflective film, curvature, ink spread, low contrast, inadequate quiet zones, distortion, small size and poor placement can affect scanning. Test the intended material, printing process and finished form: pouch on the pouch, curved label on the bottle and metallic laminate on the laminate.

GS1 India's barcode verification service assesses print quality and scanning parameters for 1D and 2D barcodes and recommends verification before bulk printing. Treat that report according to its stated scope: it is evidence about barcode print quality and conformance checks, not a blanket certification of the product, label, regulatory compliance, data accuracy, retail acceptance or backend process.

10 · Learn before scaling

Use a planned artwork cycle and a small SKU pilot

Most FMCG businesses periodically revise packs for statutory text, certifications, addresses, claims, pack sizes or brand design. Where commercial and regulatory conditions allow, add 2D-readiness work to the next planned cycle and normal packaging-stock exhaustion. Do not create an emergency reprint merely because 2027 is approaching.

Create a two-print-run decision list instead of a catalogue-wide reprint plan. Review first the SKUs whose artwork will freeze within the next two scheduled print runs, plus any product named by an export or modern-trade partner. Record one decision for each: pilot now, prepare but defer or no current 2D use case. Leave later SKUs for their natural artwork cycle unless a verified requirement changes the priority.

SME implementation flowSwipe sideways to follow all nine stages

Original GreyBath implementation diagram based on the cited GS1 guidance; it is not a GS1 certification workflow.

Choose a pilot group that exposes different constraints instead of the easiest five products.

The pilot is not a presentation exercise. It should reveal data, print, scan, content, redirect and retailer-processing failures before they affect the full catalogue.

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11 · Operate the digital layer

Show product information, not an advertising obstacle course

If a person scans a specific pack, send them to information about that product rather than the corporate homepage. A useful mobile page may show the product and pack size, ingredients, nutrition, allergens, certifications, storage and usage instructions, consumer-care contact, optional recipes or videos, and recycling guidance where relevant.

Keep the page fast. Do not make core product information conditional on a phone number, OTP or marketing consent without a legitimate access reason. Loyalty, warranty or promotion registration can remain an optional path after the information the person requested.

Assign one coordinating product-data owner

Quality may approve one field, regulatory another and marketing the description. One function should still coordinate the product record across packaging, website, e-commerce listings, retailer submissions, certificates and identity-URI destinations. That coordinator does not invent facts; the role makes each approved source, owner and effective date visible.

Monitor the identity URI, redirect and destination as long-lived packaging infrastructure. A redesign, domain transfer or agency change must not silently break codes already in the market.

12 · Hypothetical example

Sahyadri Foods prepares six products without buying a new platform

Sahyadri Foods is fictional. It is not a GreyBath client, and this example is not a performance claim, benchmark or compliance result.

The company sells six packaged foods through distributors, local supermarkets and two regional chains. Every pack has an EAN-13 and an ordinary QR that opens the homepage. Product pages exist; product data is maintained in a controlled spreadsheet and packaging artwork; batch and date information are printed during production. A packaging redesign is planned for the next year.

Phase one: product-level identity

The team verifies the six products and GTINs, confirms the source for each approved product fact and creates one product-level identity URI per GTIN. Each URI redirects to the relevant product page. It keeps batch and dates outside the new QR for now, because the first use case is product information rather than batch traceability. The EAN-13 remains on each pack.

The result is a controlled product-specific scan experience and a dual-marked pack without changing the production-line coder. The team tests the printed material, verifies every redirect and asks both regional chains how they want 2D test packs submitted.

Phase two: a decision based on evidence

After retailer tests and a review of recall and date-management needs, the company decides whether encoding AI (10), (15) or (17) would create enough operational value. That second phase may require variable-code generation, coding-equipment changes, backend records, quality reconciliation and updates to retailer processing. The company does not pay for that complexity until it can name the use case and operate the controls.

13 · Make the pilot accountable

Measure operating evidence, not the presence of a QR

Scan count alone is not success. A technical or low-volume product may receive fewer consumer scans than a snack. The stronger question is whether the code, data, destination and partner systems work for the use case selected.

Prepare this brief before speaking to vendors

Implementation briefComplete the decisions before asking for a proposal

Completing this table makes it harder to buy a symbol-generation tool when the real need is product-data cleanup, or to buy a large platform for a problem the existing CMS and controlled process can handle.

Use the brief to separate responsibilities: GS1 and regulatory advice, packaging and print verification, retailer and POS testing, and product-page, redirect or integration work. One supplier should not be assumed to own every layer.

14 · Apply the guide responsibly

Where this guide does and does not apply

This guide is for retail consumer goods and FMCG-style packaged products. Regulated healthcare has established GS1 DataMatrix applications and sector-specific requirements; the retail guideline explicitly separates regulated healthcare implementation. Tobacco, medical devices, pharmaceuticals and other regulated categories may have their own mandatory carriers, data and processes. Obtain the applicable regulatory and GS1 guidance rather than copying a grocery-pack implementation.

GS1 readiness also does not establish FSSAI, Legal Metrology, extended producer responsibility, label-content or retailer-policy compliance. Confirm the rules that apply to the exact product, pack, market and sales channel with the accountable specialist.

A B2B industrial component that never passes through retail POS may also need a different carrier and standard. Exporters must check destination-market and trading-partner requirements. Similar-looking 2D symbols do not imply identical data or obligations.

A sensible sequence for an FMCG SME

The final takeaway

The important shift is not that QR codes are fashionable. It is that standards-based product identity and digital resources can work together. One well-operated implementation may eventually support POS identification, consumer information, batch or date data, traceability and digital engagement, but no SME needs every capability on day one.

The strongest first implementation is the one where the product identity is correct, the printed symbol is reliable, the destination remains controlled, the data has accountable owners and the process is simple enough to maintain.

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