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Sunrise 2027: what the move to 2D barcodes means for your brand

Sunrise 2027 is GS1's goal for retail checkouts to read 2D barcodes by the end of 2027. For a food brand it is not a deadline: your current barcode stays, and you decide when to add a 2D code.

Updated September 22, 2026 · 8-minute read

Sunrise 2027 in plain terms

The barcode on every package (UPC or EAN) holds one thing: the GTIN, which is your product's number. A 2D code, such as a QR code or a GS1 DataMatrix, can hold that same number plus other data: a lot number, a best-before date, or a web address that opens a page about the product.

The retail industry has set a date for checkouts to accept these codes, and GS1, the standards body behind barcodes, coordinates the effort. Its guideline puts it this way: by the end of 2027, checkout scanning worldwide should be able to read and process the GTIN from both linear and 2D barcodes. GS1 US and GS1 Canada's English brochure call this goal "Sunrise 2027". GS1 Canada's FAQ says "Ambition 2027", and its French brochure says "Lever 2027". All three names refer to the same goal.

What it asks of retailers

The work happens at the till. Reading a 2D code takes an image-based scanner, and GS1 Canada notes that stores with older laser scanners will need new hardware. In GS1 US's first round of testing, many retailers already had image scanners, but 2D reading was switched off. According to GS1 US, the only requirement for Sunrise 2027 is processing the GTIN, the same way the till already does with a regular barcode.

A retailer that is not ready on December 31, 2027 will not be able to scan a product that carries only a 2D code. The GTIN printed in digits under the code can then be keyed in by hand, GS1 Canada points out. That is one reason the linear barcode stays.

What it does not ask of brands

GS1 Canada says it plainly in its September 2025 FAQ: the move to 2D barcodes is optional for brand owners, and each brand decides its own timing. The 2027 date is about checkouts.

• You keep your barcode. GS1 Canada says linear barcodes such as UPC-A are not going away. GS1's guideline adds that until 90% of checkout systems can read 2D, any product carrying a 2D code must also carry a linear barcode. Even after that, a brand can keep both, or only the linear one.
• You keep your GTIN. The 2D code carries the same number as your barcode, written as 14 digits.
• Nothing mandatory leaves the label. Ingredients, allergens, the Nutrition Facts table, bilingual text: according to GS1 Canada, adding a 2D code does not let you remove regulatory information from the package.
• What goes in the code is your call. According to GS1 Canada, a retailer cannot require an expiry date or other data in the code. That choice belongs to the brand owner.

Dual marking, in practice

During the transition, you print two codes carrying the same GTIN side by side: the usual linear barcode and a 2D code. GS1 calls this dual marking. The till keeps reading the UPC, and the shopper's phone reads the 2D code.

GS1 approves three 2D codes for the checkout: GS1 DataMatrix, QR Code with a GS1 Digital Link URI, and Data Matrix with a GS1 Digital Link URI. For a food brand that also wants to reach shoppers, the usual choice is the GS1 QR code: phones already open it, and a 2D-ready till pulls the GTIN out of it.

In the UK, the food producer Cranswick did exactly this during its trials with Tesco: the GS1 QR code on the front of the pack, the linear barcode on the back, while it tuned its production lines.

To see what a GS1 QR code holds, open our demo. Its address ends in /01/ followed by a 14-digit GTIN (here GS1's own example number, for a fictional product). Our guide to the GS1 QR code explains how it works.

Where Quebec stands

In grocery, checkouts do not read these codes yet. We looked for a public announcement from Metro, Sobeys (IGA), Loblaw (Provigo, Maxi) and the other large chains operating in Quebec, and found none as of September 22, 2026. GS1 Canada only says that many retailers are assessing their readiness with their solution providers, without naming them.

Two Canadian sectors have already chosen a 2D code, GS1 DataMatrix: according to GS1 Canada, they are pharmacy and cannabis.

Those dates say nothing about when grocery will follow. GS1 Canada expects scanning adoption to grow at different rates around the world.

Elsewhere: two examples you will hear about

In April 2026, Tesco became the first UK supermarket to move an entire product range to GS1 QR codes: its own-label sausages, where the QR code replaces the linear barcode. It came after two years of trials with GS1 UK. Tesco controls both those products and its tills, which all read the QR code according to GS1 UK. For the rest of the market, GS1 UK notes that linear barcodes keep an important role during the transition.

In Australia, Woolworths started trialling 2D codes (GS1 DataMatrix) on fresh meat and poultry in August 2019, with the batch, supplier and use-by date in the code. By early 2022 they were on half the products in its meat range, in more than 1,000 stores. At the till, the system stops the sale of out-of-date items.

These are pioneers: very large chains that got their own tills ready first. GS1 says companies are testing 2D codes in more than 45 countries (about 85% of world GDP) and expects both barcodes to sit on packages for some time.

Why your next print run is the right moment

Adding a code to a label means reopening the file: the designer edits the artwork, the printer redoes the proofs and, depending on the process, the plates. If your label is already changing (new recipe, new size), adding the GS1 QR code in the same revision takes little extra work. Doing it on its own means paying for a revision for that one code.

GS1 Canada points the same way: brand owners can add a 2D code next to their existing barcode when they update their packaging. And the code is useful before the tills are ready: it already opens on any phone, at an address on your own domain that redirects to a page you can change after printing.

What a brand can do now

1. Don't change anything in a hurry. Your current barcode keeps working everywhere.
2. Check your GTINs: an error in the barcode would carry over into the QR code. Our guide to barcodes and GTINs explains what to look for.
3. Find the date of your next label print run and plan the GS1 QR code into it, next to the UPC.
4. Choose the address. GS1 suggests a dedicated subdomain such as id.yourbrand.ca, and GS1 Canada notes that a domain your customers recognize gives them more confidence when they scan.
5. Have a printed sample verified: a code that opens on your phone will not necessarily scan at the till. GS1's guideline points to ISO/IEC 15415 for grading 2D print quality. GS1 Canada's verification service lists UPC and GS1 DataMatrix but not the QR code, so ask them before you send a proof.
6. Ask your buyers where they stand. GS1 Canada advises brands to work directly with their retailers on readiness and timing.
7. Keep your product data current in ECCnet. Sobeys, Loblaw and Metro require it, according to GS1 Canada. It is a condition for selling, not a guarantee of a listing.

For your designer or printer

• In a 2D code, the GTIN is written as 14 digits: two leading zeros for a 12-digit UPC, one for a 13-digit EAN. GS1 Canada's example: 068780000108 becomes 00068780000108.
• A GS1 QR code's address follows a fixed pattern: a domain, then /01/, then the 14-digit GTIN. For example: https://id.yourbrand.ca/01/00068780000108.
• A code pre-printed in the label artwork holds fixed information. To add a lot number or a best-before date, the code has to be printed on the production line (inline printing).
• Minimum, target and maximum sizes are in the GS1 General Specifications, section 5.12.3.1. Quiet zone and contrast are two of the four print problems found in the Tesco and GS1 UK trials.