Do Indian Manufacturers Need to Replace Their Existing Barcodes?

A distributor mentions that "barcodes are going 2D in 2027", and suddenly a packaging manager in Ahmedabad or Baddi is asking whether every carton, label and printing plate has to change. It is a fair worry, and the answer is reassuring: you do not need to replace anything. You may want to add something.

The short answer: keep the EAN-13

The EAN-13 barcode on your packs carries a GTIN (Global Trade Item Number), the product number your retailers, distributors and marketplaces use to recognise each item. Nothing about the move to 2D changes that number or makes the barcode invalid.

GS1's global goal — Ambition 2027, often called Sunrise 2027 — is about retail checkouts becoming able to read 2D codes as well as linear barcodes. It is not an Indian government requirement, and GS1 India presents 2D codes as a voluntary business choice. For the full context, start with what Sunrise 2027 means for Indian brands.

If your GTINs come from GS1 India, they start with 890. That prefix shows who issued the number range, not where the goods were made, and it does not change when you add a 2D code.

What GS1's rules say about adding 2D

When a brand does add a 2D barcode to a general retail pack, GS1's General Specifications set out how it lives alongside the existing one. This is usually called dual marking:

• Both codes stay. The 2D code is used in addition to the EAN-13, not instead of it. This continues until 90% of retail scanning solutions can read at least the GTIN from a GS1 2D code.
• Same identity. Both codes must carry the same GTIN, and any data they share — such as a batch number — must match.
• Close together. The 2D code goes within 50 mm of the centre of the linear barcode, so a cashier finds both in one movement.
• One beep. The checkout should process one item once, whichever code it reads first.

GS1's own support guidance says traditional barcodes will not be gone by 2027 and that packs are likely to carry both formats. So dual marking is not a temporary workaround to minimise; it is the expected state of retail packaging for some years. Our article on why 1D and 2D barcodes will coexist explains why the overlap is deliberate.

Which 2D code, if you add one

Only three 2D formats count for general retail checkout: GS1 DataMatrix, a QR code carrying a GS1 Digital Link web address, and a Data Matrix carrying the same web address. The table below compares them with the EAN-13 you already print.

For most Indian consumer brands, the QR code with GS1 Digital Link is the interesting option because a phone camera opens it as a web page while a modern checkout reads the GTIN from it without going online. If you are weighing the two symbol types, read QR code vs GS1 DataMatrix.

A QR code that only links to a promotion page is not one of the three. Nor is a code with a proprietary token. To count at checkout, it must be built from your GTIN in the uncompressed Digital Link form. Our guide to whether a GS1 QR code can replace a retail barcode covers the detail.

When adding a 2D code adds value

Adding a code costs pack space, artwork time and, if the data varies, printing capability on the line. It is worth doing when it buys you something specific:

• A retail customer asks for it. Their timetable matters more than the calendar. Agree the format and data content with them.
• You want batch and expiry readable at checkout. A 2D code can carry the batch number and expiry date, which retailers can use, for example, to manage expiry and recalls. An EAN-13 cannot.
• You want to reach consumers or channel partners. A Digital Link QR can lead to usage guidance, warranty registration or a rewards scheme — from the same code the checkout reads.
• You need traceability or anti-counterfeit signals. Adding a serial number per unit lets you follow individual items and spot suspicious duplicate scans, as long as you treat the code as an identifier rather than a seal.

When it can wait

Equally, there are good reasons to hold off:

• your products rarely pass through modern retail checkouts;
• your lines cannot yet print variable codes at speed and acceptable quality (see how to evaluate whether your printer can handle serialized 2D codes);
• you have no plan for what a scan should lead to, so a consumer would land on a generic page.

Waiting is not a compliance risk, because the EAN-13 keeps working.

A worked example

Tara Foods, a fictional snack maker in Pune, sells namkeen in eight pack sizes. Each size already has a GTIN from GS1 India and an EAN-13 on the pouch.

A modern-trade customer asks Tara to print batch and expiry in a 2D code from next year. Tara does not touch its GTINs or remove its EAN-13. At the next artwork revision, it reserves a space within 50 mm of the barcode for a QR code carrying GS1 Digital Link. Because the batch and expiry change, the code is printed on the line, where those values are already printed as text — so Tara first checks that its coders can print a 2D code at line speed and acceptable quality.

At the retailer, an upgraded checkout reads either code and prices the pouch from the retailer's own system. At home, a shopper scanning the QR code sees ingredients and allergen information. Nothing was replaced; one code was added.

Already printing a proprietary QR code?

Many Indian brands already have a QR code on pack for loyalty or promotions. That code does not need to be ripped out either. The usual approach is to keep existing codes resolving while new packs carry a GTIN-based Digital Link that takes over the same jobs. See how existing QR programmes can evolve toward GS1 Digital Link.

When you are ready to plan, the GS1 2D readiness checklist for manufacturers turns these decisions into steps.