GS1 Sunrise 2027 in Malta: What 2D Barcodes Mean for Coding

The deadline is real, but it is not the deadline most people think it is. Sunrise 2027 is about what checkouts must be able to read, not a date your current barcode stops working.

If you put products through retail, you have probably heard that QR codes are replacing the barcode by 2027 and wondered what it means for the equipment that codes your packs. The short version is that GS1, the body behind the barcode standard, is steering global retail from the familiar 1D barcode toward 2D codes such as QR, and it has set 2027 as the milestone year. The longer version, the one that actually affects your investment decisions, has more nuance, and getting that nuance right saves you from both panic and complacency. This guide explains what Sunrise 2027 requires, what it does not, and what a Maltese manufacturer should be asking of the coder that prints their packs.

Learn More about GS1 Malta

What does Sunrise 2027 actually require?

It requires retailers, not manufacturers, to be ready. According to GS1’s own guidance, the goal is that by the end of 2027 retail point-of-sale systems globally should be able to read and process the product identifier, the GTIN, from both the traditional linear barcode and a 2D code such as a QR code. In plain terms, by 31 December 2027 the scanner at the checkout should handle either format. It is a readiness milestone for the scanning infrastructure of retail, achieved by upgrading scanners and software, and it is what gives the initiative its name: the “sunrise” of a new capability across the industry.

Why is this not a switch-off date for your current barcode?

This is the distinction most coverage gets wrong, and it matters for your planning. Sunrise 2027 does not turn your existing 1D barcode off. Quite the opposite: through the transition, GS1 recommends a dual-barcode approach, where manufacturers keep printing the traditional linear barcode and add the 2D code alongside it. The reason is simple and practical. Not every retailer upgrades on the same day, so for a period both codes need to be on the pack to guarantee a scan everywhere, the upgraded checkouts and the ones still catching up. Your linear barcode remains valid and scannable. Sunrise 2027 is the start of a long migration, not a cliff edge, and GS1 itself is clear that you do not need to implement every 2D capability by that date.

Is a QR code on my pack automatically a GS1 code?

No, and this is the trap. Sticking any QR code on a pack does not make it compliant or scannable at a checkout. The 2D code that matters for retail is a QR Code carrying a GS1 Digital Link, which is a specific, structured way of encoding your GTIN, and optionally batch, expiry and a web address, inside the code so that both a checkout scanner and a shopper’s phone can make sense of it. A marketing QR code that just opens your website is not the same thing and will not scan a product through a till. If you are going to add a 2D code, it has to be built to the GS1 Digital Link standard and carry the GTIN, or it does not count. This is exactly the kind of detail to confirm when you specify the equipment and the label or message template.

Does a 2D code actually make you more attractive to a retailer?

This is the part worth understanding, because it turns a compliance chore into a commercial advantage. A GS1 Digital Link 2D code does not just carry the GTIN that scans a product through a till. It can also carry, or link out to, the data a retailer increasingly wants attached to the product itself: batch and lot numbers, expiry dates, certifications, allergen and ingredient information, and a web address for richer content. GS1’s own guidance to retailers spells out why they value this. A 2D code lets a retailer flag recalled, expired or counterfeit stock in the warehouse and at the till, automatically discount product nearing its expiry, manage returns more accurately, and run targeted batch-level recalls instead of clearing a whole line. In other words, the same code that gets you through the checkout also makes your product easier for the retailer to handle, trace and trust.

For a Maltese producer trying to get onto the shelf of a supermarket chain, or into the supply stream of a delivery platform such as Wolt or a marketplace such as Amazon, that matters. These buyers are standardising on richer product data and expiry-aware, batch-traceable stock, and a supplier whose packs already carry a compliant 2D code with that data built in is simply easier to onboard than one whose packs do not. It is the difference between being the supplier who fits their system and the one who creates an exception. None of this requires you to move first across your whole range, but it is a concrete reason to make your next coder 2D-capable rather than treating Sunrise 2027 as a distant compliance date.

What does Sunrise 2027 change for the coder on my line?

It raises the bar on what your coding equipment has to print reliably. A 2D code packs far more data into a smaller area than a linear barcode, which means print quality and contrast matter more, not less. A smudged or low-contrast 2D code fails to scan in a way a forgiving human eye would never notice. So the practical questions for your line are whether your coder can print a GS1-compliant 2D code at your line speed, on your surface, to a quality grade that scans first time. Domino’s coders address this directly: the Cx-Series direct case printer and the Vx-Series thermal transfer overprinter both print 2D codes including QR powered by GS1, and for permanent high-contrast marking the F-Series fibre laser produces crisp 2D codes on metal and plastic. The equipment is not the obstacle; specifying and verifying the code correctly is the work.