Labels: The State of the Industry

Food and beverage labeling remain the key market sectors for label volumes.

Trends in other regions

Now the world's largest regional label market, Asia Pacific continues to grow—at around 7 percent in 2011, primarily in China and India. Japan shows declines in all label formats, however, as a result of market maturity and the ongoing effects of the 2011 tsunami disaster. Glue-applied labels have the leading volume share of the market, at 38 percent, driven by strong demand in India and China for beers, and—for wraparound labels—soft drinks and mineral waters. Pressure-sensitive label growth continued in 2011, but at a slower rate than previously, 7-7.5 percent. As elsewhere, sleeve labels show the greatest growth—at 7.5 percent in 2011; and film label substrate usage is growing much faster than papers.