# GS1 Sunrise 2027 for Wholesalers — Help Your Brand Partners Get Ready

An industry briefing for wholesalers and distributors: what GS1 Sunrise 2027, the EU Digital Product Passport, and FSMA 204 mean for the brand partners in your portfolio — and the 4-step path brands can run to be ready.

_For Wholesalers and Distributors_

# Help your brand partners get ready for 2D barcodes.

Three regulations are converging on the same technical fix. The brands that move now own this quietly. The ones that wait scramble at retailer onboarding — and the cost lands on you. A forward-friendly briefing your team can share with the suppliers in your portfolio.

## The shift in plain terms

By the **end of 2027**, the global retail supply chain replaces the 50-year-old UPC barcode with **2D codes built on the GS1 Digital Link standard**. Every product, every package, every batch — scanned by phones, point-of-sale systems, and warehouse handhelds.

This isn't a marketing trend. It's the GS1 "Sunrise 2027" deadline, agreed by retailers and brand owners worldwide. Major US grocers and global retailers have already announced 2D-acceptance dates ahead of 2027.

For your brand partners, this means **every product they sell needs a working Digital Link resolver** — a URL behind every QR code that returns trusted product information when scanned.

## Three regulations, one answer

### GS1 Sunrise 2027

**Global retail · End of 2027.** 2D barcodes (Digital Link) accepted at POS, replacing UPC.

### EU Digital Product Passport

**EU market · 2026–2030 phased.** Per-product attribute data accessible via QR/NFC, by category.

### FSMA 204

**US food supply · enforcement now.** Lot-level traceability records, 24-hour retrieval.

All three converge on the same technical capability: **a stable, queryable URL behind every product identifier**. Brands that wait will scramble; brands that move now will own their compliance story.

## Why this lands on your desk

Non-compliant suppliers create **downstream problems for you**:

- **Returned shipments** when retailers reject products without working 2D codes
- **Recall liability gaps** when traceability records aren't retrievable in 24 hours (FSMA 204)
- **Lost shelf space** at retailers who've already announced 2D-only acceptance windows
- **Manual reconciliation cost** when your WMS can't read the codes on inbound pallets

You don't have to *implement* the standards — but you can be the partner who **flagged it early** for the brands you depend on.

## What brands should do now

A brand that does these four things is **simultaneously** GS1 Sunrise 2027–ready, EU DPP–capable, and FSMA 204–positioned. One investment, three compliance wins.

### 1. Audit GTINs

Confirm every SKU has a valid, unique GTIN with a current GS1 prefix.

### 2. Stand up a resolver

A resolver returns the right URL for any GS1 identifier scanned. This is the linchpin of all three regulations.

### 3. Enrich product data

Ingredients, allergens, country of origin, batch lineage — the data behind the QR.

### 4. Pilot 2D-on-pack

Print a single SKU with a Digital Link QR code, scan it through your distribution chain, fix what breaks.

## Share this with your brand partners

Forward this briefing to procurement, regulatory, and product teams at every brand in your portfolio. The brands you depend on either move now or they don't — and downstream you carry the cost either way.

Direct them to a free starting point: **closient.com** offers a Digital Link resolver with a free Starter tier (10 GTINs) so a brand can spin up a working resolver this afternoon and verify the plumbing before scaling.

## Try the resolver — free for 10 GTINs

Closient implements the GS1 Digital Link standard end-to-end. Spin up a working resolver in 30 minutes; pilot one product line; decide whether to scale.

- [Read the technical guide](/learn/resolver/)
- [Sign up — no credit card](/accounts/login/)