European label industry meets amid ‘transformation moment’

As the European label community gathered in Seville for Finat’s annual European Label Forum, attendees were welcomed by the city’s stunning backdrop, but the industry itself faces a far less picturesque reality as it grapples with economic instability, sluggish growth, rising costs, mounting regulatory pressure and geopolitical uncertainty.

However, today’s challenges are not a crisis moment like those the industry endured through the COVID-19 pandemic, the Finnish paper workers’ strike and the resulting so-called ‘Great Destocking’.

It’s a ‘transformation moment,’ said Dr Ilke Toygür, the ELF kickoff keynote speaker. Dr Toygür is the director of the IE Global Policy Center and a professor of geopolitics at IE University in Madrid.

In short, it’s a moment for adaptation and re-thinking business models.

‘Europe is changing, and one of the most important messages that you will hear today is: this is not a crisis moment like the ones that we have been going through for years and decades in Europe, but it's a transformation moment,’ she said.

‘Europe is a continent and an entity that has been counting on free trade rules by order, clear relationships that define security, economics, trade relations, but at this point in time Europe is going through a moment where interdependency is our weapon.’

The European Union, Toygür said, can use its economic relationships and interconnectedness with other countries as a source of power.

The EU, she said, must unite to take care of its own defense and security, and invest in technologies and energies that will fuel its economy. Citing a speech from EU president Ursula von der Leyen, Toygür continued: ‘This is our independence moment, and this independence moment comes after major crises. If we look at the 21st century, we have had the financial crisis that turned into a Eurozone crisis. We have had a political crisis due to irregular migration, then Brexit, then [US president Donald] Trump's first term in the White House, then we have the COVID-19 pandemic, we had Russian invasion of Ukraine, and then we had president Trump's return to the White House, and after these almost 20 years of crisis, we are to this point of transformation that requires a major rethinking of the environment around us.’

Situating Europe within this broader industry landscape, Toygür’s rousing opening talk was a thread that wove through the two-day European Label Forum. Session topics centered on themes of sustainability, AI, regulations, supply chains and competition and focused on the current geopolitical and economic challenges facing Europe, emphasizing a period of transformation rather than crisis.

Label landscape

While the opening discussion zoomed out to cover macro-geopolitical trends, the subsequent sessions took an up-close look at the European narrow web landscape.

Label market expectations were high at the beginning of 2026; after a period of volatility, things looked to be stabilizing. But in late February, the conflict in the Middle East threw the label industry into uncertainty once again, and the European label industry is set to face its share of headwinds for the next six to 12 months, according to AWA’s Catalina Steenbakkers, who summarized the latest Finat Radar Report findings. Inflation, geopolitical uncertainty and regulatory pressure are continuing to squeeze converters. Disruptions in key shipping routes are adding pressure to procurement strategies and driving up costs for energy and materials.

The results are already evident. A converter survey in the Radar Report found that most converters reported flat or declining revenues in Q1 2026 compared with the previous year, with 60 percent reporting decreased consumer demand in Europe.

Further market data from Panteia presented by Finat showed that European self-adhesive labelstock consumption reached 7.37 billion sqm in 2025, up 2 percent from the previous year, but still broadly at pre-COVID levels. Certain FMCG segments, such as food, health and personal care, are showing signs of stronger growth, while markets like automotive and industrial are declining, Steenbakkers reported. And companies are shifting their strategic focus to high-value categories, with less attention on commodity markets due to weaker consumer demand.

The same report also presented that when it comes to capital investment, finishing equipment was the most frequently mentioned priority, at 31 percent, while flexible packaging remained the most attractive adjacent growth market for converters, cited by 32 percent of respondents. Digitalization and automation were identified by 40 percent of converters as the most critical success factor for the next three years. Brand owners, meanwhile, are facing continued pressure from material and energy costs, with 42 percent reporting increases.

Another Finat-commissioned report studied the impact of Chinese imports of self-adhesive label materials in Europe. The report, written by Euromonitor, showed a significant increase in the volume of Chinese self-adhesive label materials imported into Europe, with key import markets in the UK, Germany, Poland, Turkey and Ukraine. The total volume of imported label materials in Europe doubled between 2020 and 2025.

The research underlines the need for closer market monitoring and a balanced assessment of how global capacity, pricing and supply-chain dynamics may affect the competitiveness of the European label value chain, Finat said.

New president

Amid the challenges, there were also reasons for optimism. The European Label Forum also had a series of bright spots. The association named its new president, Dana Kilárska, CEO of Slovakian label converter Purgina. She’s the first woman to hold the position, and the first from Eastern Europe. Kilárska will be supported by Vito Giurazza, CEO of Italy-based Tikedo, as vice president of the association.

‘This role means the world to me, not because of the title, but because of the community behind it,’ Kilárska said. ‘Finat is made up of extraordinary people, and to lead them is a privilege.’

Kilárska takes over from Philippe Voet, who, along with past president Chris Ellison, was named an honorary member in recognition of their service to the association.

Bringing and Eastern European converter to lead the association also signals a shift in the European label industry toward a segment of Europe that has been underrepresented in the association.

Poland and other Eastern European countries are quickly becoming and manufacturing and logistics hub for other parts of Europe. Economic growth in Eastern Europe is outpacing the rest of the continent, with Poland among the fastest-growing large economies in the EU.

Finat’s European Label Forum moves to Poland in 2027. It will be held in Warsaw from May 19 to 21 in 2027.