The TLMI Converter Leadership Meeting featured a host of expert deep dives into the newest trends and technologies. Corey Reardon, president and CEO, AWA Alexander Watson Associates joined TLMI on April 13, 2026, where he examined the global label market.

According to Reardon, the global label market features 76 billion square meters of material, with North America accounting for 13 billion square meters. North America represents one of the three key regions (Asia Pacific, Europe) where labeling and product decoration technologies are used.

In the global market, pressure sensitive makes up 39% of labels, while glue applied and shrink sleeves account for 35% and 20%, respectively. Meanwhile, 50% of labeling in North America is pressure sensitive.

“Globally, food and beverage combine for the vast majority of label usage across all formats,” said Reardon. “We see similar trends in North America, with 34% for beverage and 25% for food. In North America, when accounting for the amount of material vs. application segment, almost 60% of the market is used for food and beverage.”

Growth trends

Currently, global label growth sits at 2.8%. Asia is growing at 3.7%, but that figures at a dramatically decelerating rate YoY over the last 10 years. North America, meanwhile, is seeing roughly 2% growth.

“Private equity firms looking at investing in label segments – and one of their initial questions is, What’s disruptive in the label market?’” noted Reardon. “I can’t think of anything disruptive in terms of what’s happening is going to make my business irrelevant tomorrow. This industry is more evolutionary than revolutionary. In terms of disruption, we don’t see that. But we are seeing the evolution of a more mature market than we have in the past.”

One specific growth area, however, is smart labels. “There are areas, like RFID, where there’s attractive growth in the industry and an ability to continue to grow beyond GDP or GDP -1 growth going forward,” explained Reardon. “One of the main drivers of our industry growth is GDP growth.

“Shrink sleeves are also growing at a faster rate than other labeling formats,” added Reardon. “We’re seeing close to 2.5% growth in North America and 4% globally.”

Current challenges

While the industry saw promise heading into 2026, numerous factors have created uncertainty in the future.

“We’re moving forward with a little more predictability of what market dynamics and volume trends will look like, but conflict in the Gulf in Q2 could change the characteristics going forward,” remarked Reardon. “We’re monitoring that very closely.

Supply availability and cost inflation are two other challenges that will be monitored extensively. All commodity products are linked to what’s happening in the Middle East,” said Reardon. “Whether by supply or transportation issues. That will create a disruption on the supply side that we’re just feeling now, and we’ll feel that to a greater extent moving forward.

“That’s the way the world is today and we have to adapt to these changes,” added Reardon. “We have to rethink our supply sources and be more regional. It could impact new product development, as well. The conflict could impact the brand owner looking back to how they can reduce their supply issues by simplifying their packaging or labeling formats. Depending where you are in the value chain, this could be a win or a loss depending on your particular enterprise.”

Many members of the label industry are increasingly looking at flexible packaging and folding cartons as opportunistic areas for growth. More brands could look at local sourcing as part of their supply chain diversification.

Tariffs will also impact the label and package printing industry moving forward. Since this issue is not yet resolved, tariffs have created substantial unpredictability.

“Regardless of where your politics are, tariffs can be good or bad, but they have provided a disruption and created an environment that isn’t very comfortable,” stated Reardon. “That makes it hard to plan when you’re shipping components from other parts of the world. We’re still dealing with this disruption, and maybe it’s camouflaged by other disruptions in the world.”

Innovation driving growth

Technology will play a key role in market growth. In addition to smart labeling, sustainability continues to rank among the top focal points for the industry.

“Through regulation and legislation, and the brand owner’s needs to appease younger consumers, sustainability is here to stay,” commented Reardon. “We’re going to be forced to address many of these issues. In Europe, there’s PPWR that creates a lot of uncertainty. In California and Oregon, it’s similar but just done on a different basis. We’ll see more regulation and legislation, not less. The only way to meet those needs is through innovation.”

Plus, RFID and smart labeling is seeing arguably the highest growth in the label market today. “The hockey stick we saw 10 years ago is turning into reality,” explained Reardon. “As we look at the broader space of active and intelligent packaging required through labeling, it’s more evident the opportunities for our industry are in this channel.”

Today, 56% of RFID labels are in retail, while only 10% are used in food and beverage. AWA is currently seeing 12% growth YoY moving forward.

“I’ve heard in 10 years, every label will have some form of smart or active technology incorporated into it,” said Reardon. “Whether that’s in five, 10 or 20 years, it’s going to happen.”