Smart Food Label Market Size, Share, Industry, Forecast and outlook (2024-2031)

Global Smart Food Label Market is Segmented By Technology (Quick Response codes, Electronic Article Surveillance (EAS), Radio-frequency,  Identification labels (RFID), Near Field Communication Tag and Others), and By Region (North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa) – Share, Size, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 2024-2031

Smart Food Label Market Overview

180 pages report analyses the Smart Food Label Market Size, Trends and Analysis. The global smart food label market is estimated to reach a high CAGR during the forecast period 2024-2031. Smart food labels facilitate consumers to get additional details about the product by scanning a bar code or doing an online search. It helps the consumer to get all the information they want to know about the food product and purchase it according to their diet. North America is anticipated to grow with the highest market share. Competitive rivalry intensifies with JK LABELS, Honeywell International Inc., Consolidated Label Co. and others operating in the market.

Several other food labels use sensing technology by a label that can change its color, thereby letting consumers know if the food is good to eat. The change in the color of the smart food labels occurs whenever the chemicals present in these labels detect any form of microorganisms growing inside the food packet. Using smart labels to reduce food waste and improve food safety is a key trend shaping the market. Referring to the IOF2020 newsletter, 1.3 billion tons of food is wasted each year. These labels can help to decrease food waste by tracing the freshness of the product and giving customers and suppliers visibility of the information. As a result, steps can be taken to avoid wastage of food. Smart labels food packaging is being adopted on a large scale by the manufacturers.

Smart Food Label Market Scope

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Smart Food Label Market Dynamics

The growing consumer demands for safe, healthy and authentic food is driving the market

Ensuring food safety is a shared responsibility between governments, producers, industry and consumers. Food labeling is a way in which consumers gets knowledge about the food they consider buying. Correctly following the information provided on food labels (such as expiry dates, handling instructions and allergy warnings) helps consumers in preventing unnecessary food-borne illness and allergic reactions. In the European Union (EU), an intricate set of legislation and standards have been developed and implemented to ensure safety throughout the entire food chain. Perishable foods, judged from a microbiological point of view (such as cooked meat products, prepared foods and salads), display a use-by date on the package and should not be eaten after this date, as this could present a health risk.

Source: DataM Intelligence Analysis (2021)

In addition, many foods display a 'best before date, which indicates the "minimum durability," or the period during which the food retains its specific properties when properly stored. Storage instructions are required on certain food products combined with the expiry date to ensure proper handling by consumers. Food poisoning bacteria such as Salmonella and Listeria can grow to levels that may cause illness if food is not stored correctly. These instructions may also indicate how to store the food once the package is opened. Consumers often use storage conditions and preparation guidelines when they buy a new product. In a recent quantitative study, Irish consumers were asked to rate the importance of mandatory labeling information for pre-packaged foodstuffs.

The majority (over 70%) regarded storage conditions and ‘instructions for use (where necessary)’ as important information on the label. Other important information present on food labels includes allergy warnings that help consumers who have specific food allergies to avoid allergens present in specific food products. In an age of highly publicized food recalls and food security concerns (such as Salmonella in onions and fresh produce or foreign particle contamination), QR codes and data tracking on food labels help quickly trace supply chains, vendors, retail destinations and lot codes. The European Commission has funded labels that can detect when chicken is beginning to spoil by measuring the gases released by the poultry. This changes the color of the label, called 'Fresh code,' so both consumers and the retailers can determine the freshness of the chicken.

Smart Food Label Market Growth

Moreover, various initiatives by manufacturers are expected to drive the market growth. In 2015, the Grocery Manufacturers Association introduced the SmartLabel program. The program was a voluntary initiative allowing brands to share information about sustainability and sourcing, ingredients, allergens, and more, via product labels. The Grocery Manufacturers Association says over 40 major companies have committed to using SmartLabel, and more than 40,000 individual products use the SmartLabel format. Researchers at Clemson University think smart labels can save all this edible food from going to waste. They’re working on “intelligent packaging” that can detect the biological indicators of food.

The technology is in its initial stage, but it will save consumers money, reduce food waste, and prevent needless trips to the grocery store if it comes to fruition. Premium private label products drive the growth, and 40% of Americans say they would pay the same or more for the right store-branded products.  The 2016 Label Insight Transparency ROI study states that 39.0% of the customers say that they would switch to a new brand if full product information transparency is offered, and 56% of customers say that they would be loyal customers to the brand if complete transparency is provided. These statistics show that transparency about the product information influences customer behavior. Hence, smart label initiative is an excellent market opportunity for brands to ensure the transparency the customers seek.

One of the primary restraints identified is lack of investments of traditional label printing companies in digital printing services. Traditional players in the market are still lacking to invest into advanced systems due to high cost associated with it. However, the traditional label printing companies have low barriers to enter into the market as their core business involves converting and printing the label or tag. By adding inlay lamination or inlay insertion to the converting process will increase the smart labels manufacturers value add services and enable the manufacturer to meet the RFID and IoT requirements of the end-user.

COVID-19 Impact: Pandemic had a positive impact on the global smart food label market

The coronavirus pandemic has caused the clean label trend to evolve. A 2020 Health & Food Survey undertaken by the International Food Information Council (IFIC) revealed that COVID-19 had impacted eating and food preparation habits for 85% of consumers. According to the survey, the most popular trend is that people are cooking at home, snacking, and washing fresh produce more. The following two indicate a positive impact on the clean label. Since the coronavirus pandemic hit, people are thinking about food more often than usual and eating healthier.

While the most important concern was found to be foodborne illness from bacteria, the second and third most popular indicates that clean label remains a high priority: food handling/food preparation related to the risk of COVID-19 and chemicals in food as the consumers turned to takeout, food delivery and online grocery shopping during the COVID-19 pandemic, food and beverage labeling took on fresh importance. Citing a 20% increase in grocery industry sales in 2020 and e-commerce sales up 43%, sustainable label leader UPM Raflatac found its grocery and restaurant delivery customers want to provide an increasingly safe experience with labels that provide visible safeguards to human health and protections for the environment.

With meal takeout and grocery delivery increasing approximately 75% during the pandemic and spending on meal delivery services increasing 70% in March 2020 compared to 2019, food packaging has become a critical tool for retailers and producers to communicate health and safety practices. Tamper-proof labels now provide restaurants, grocers and meal delivery service customer's visible proof of responsible handling from preparation to delivery. According to UPM's Strenski, all major national food delivery companies are using pressure-sensitive labels on food packaging, with some restaurant customers, including Papa John's, advertising the packaging to emphasize a commitment to human health, safety and quality.

Smart Food Label Market Segmentation Analysis

QR codes are coming back to product labels

Codes are used for item identification, product tracking and providing marketing information to consumers. They can be read by various devices, including smartphones with an inbuilt QR code reader. QR codes can store more information than traditional barcodes. A barcode has a 20-character capacity while a QR code can store over 7,000 characters and can be read more quickly by machine readers. These codes serve a more practical, functional purpose: Improving industry transparency and expanding manufacturer-consumer communication beyond the information that can fit on a product label's limited real estate. SmartLabel and potentially GMO labeling, two big food industry initiatives, rely on QR codes to deliver important product information to the consumer. The most important aspect of barcodes on food packaging is that they help in managing the supply chain.

For single fruits, such as bananas and oranges, barcodes are great option for keeping track of the supply line and distribution. For bulk products, barcodes are great for tracking purposes and stock management and making sure that each product is of the highest quality. In America, the Smart Label scheme empowers consumers by providing instant information about the product – right from its originality, through the ingredients used and their benefits to the nutritional factors. More than 30 different American manufacturers (including cosmetic and hair care brands) have employed this scheme. QR codes power the Smart Label scheme, wherein the codes that can be scanned contain potential information that protects the brands from fake manufacturers and provides consumers with accurate knowledge about product quality.

Smart Food Label Market Geographical Penetration

The U.S.A and Canada led North America to the top of the smart food label market

North America is anticipated to grow with the highest market share on the back of the nation, being one of the most advanced in terms of adoption of technology, coupled with numerous end users who have the infrastructure to operate with smart food labels. Additionally, the market in the region is primarily driven by nations such as U.S. and Canada, where the U.S.A is anticipated to have the largest market share in the coming years. There has been a high rise in QR code usage, with nearly 11 million households scanning a QR Code in 2020 in the USA alone. This is due to increase in smartphone penetration that went from 10% in 2014 to 38% in 2018 and access to high-speed mobile internet, which increased from 48% in 2014 to 61% in 2018. In addition to this, internet users have grown by 7% from Jan 2020 to Jan 2021.

96 % of device ownership belongs to smartphone users. These factors have led to the massive adoption of QR Codes. QR codes' utility has increased a lot, and they are used for many applications, including food labels. According to a survey conducted between 2018 and 2019 revealed that about 39 percent of U.S. food consumers bought products with the claim 'natural on the label, while another 38 percent of respondents was convinced to purchase a food product due to the claim 'No added hormone or steroids' advertised on the label. In general, food claims were more impactful in the food shopping experience than in out-of-home eating.

Asia Pacific smart food label market is expected to facilitate a remarkable CAGR during the forecast period. Mandatory government rules and laws on the labeling of the product is likely to drive the demand for intelligent labels across the region. For instance, the Japanese diet established a comprehensive food labeling law in 2013. The law mandates allergen information and nutritional labeling on all pre-packaged food products. As a result, manufacturers have started incorporating intelligent labels such as QR code on the packed foods.

Source: DataM Intelligence Analysis (2021)

Smart Food Label Companies and Competitive Landscape

The food label market is fragmented and competitive with the presence of local as well as global companies.  Some of the key players which are contributing to the growth of the market include JK LABELS, Honeywell International Inc., Consolidated Label Co., Star Label Products, Avery Dennison, The Label Printers, ALL 4 LABELS Global Packaging Group, XEIKON, CCL Industries and Lofton Label & Packaging among others. Mergers and acquisitions activities are likely to expand the market size. In the current scenario, players are focusing on strategic partnerships and mergers to expand market growth and strengthen the market position.

• CCL Industries Inc., a world leader in specialty label, security and packaging solutions for global corporations, government institutions, small businesses and consumers, announced acquired InTouch Label and Packaging Co., Inc., a specialized short-run digital label converter based near Boston, in June 2020 for approximately USD 10.9 million.

• Avery Dennison announced an agreement to acquire JDC Solutions, Inc., a privately-owned manufacturer of pressure-sensitive specialty tapes headquartered in Mount Juliet, USA, for USD 24 million in February 2021.
• Tenex Capital Management, a private equity firm has acquired and merged US-based Consolidated Label and Online Labels (together “Consolidated”) in partnership on 27 July 2020. Tenex has recapitalized and merged Consolidated Label and Online Labels.

Why Purchase the Report?

• Understand the current market scenario and viability of global smart food label over the forecast period.
• Visualize the composition of the global smart food label market in terms of technology to identify major players, growth potential, and market strategies
• Identify the key regulations prevailing in the market and understand their impact on the market over the forecast period.
• Understand the key business factors such as market competition, product pricing, new product developments, and patent filings pertaining to the market

What we offer?

• PDF report with the most relevant analysis cogently put together after exhaustive qualitative interviews and in-depth market study.
• Excel data sheet with valuable data points of the global smart food label market – Regional and Country level segmentation
• Product mapping in excel for the key products of all major market players
• Market Share Analysis covering business revenues ($) and revenue share (%) of key market players

The global smart food label market report would provide an access to approximately 45 market data tables, 40 figures and 180 pages

Target Audience:

• Food Processing Companies
• Packaging Companies
• Import and Export Companies
• Industry Investors/Investment Bankers
• Education & Research Institutes
• Research Professionals