70 | Asia-Pacific market reviewOpportunities in Asia-PacificThe Asia-Pacifc region tops innumerable market growth projections. It is a robust economy that quickly defeats challenges and seizes opportunities. Piotr Wnuk reportsor many, Asia Pacifc is a faraway holiday land with ancient supplier of UV LED systems. ‘The restrictions on travel led to a traditions, favorsome food and welcoming people. It might downturn in the leisure and tourism sector, and as a consequence, be a distant land, but it struggles with similar challenges and we’ve seen a divergence in demand trends across different sectors. Fseizes the same opportunities as more mature markets. The hygiene and pharma sectors have been solid and the retail food According to the Knowledge Sourcing Intelligence report and drink sector performed better than expected.’published in September 2022, the Asia Pacifc (APAC) print labels Thai KK, a major label and adhesive tape manufacturer, faced a market was valued at 15.778 billion USD in 2020 and is expected much lower demand for self-adhesive labels for the food industry. to grow at a CAGR of 7.34 percent to reach a market size of 25.092 However, it could keep a stable volume by supplying more to billion USD by 2027. converters producing labels for the pharmaceutical, home and The CAGR percentage might not seem impressive initially. personal care, and digital advertisement industries. Still, compared with the 3.02 percent and 3.47 percent growth ‘A big number of brand owners were supplying labels to prognosis for North America and EMEA, it becomes clear why specifc verticals such as healthcare, retail, home, personal some of the signifcant label market players increased their care and education before the pandemic unfolded,’ comments presence in the region. Chawaeng Uvimolchai, CEO of Thai KK Industries. ‘Now, as High economic growth in emerging economies, rising disposable businesses have reopened, many brand owners are getting more income, and growing health awareness are some of the key factors traction and demand on social distancing labels, smart labels, augmenting the demand for packaged food and beverage products, touchless transactions, etc. We were also able to capitalize on this which boosts the demand for print labels in the region. opportunity during the pandemic.’ Several countries in the Asia-Pacifc region were signifcantly affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. The shutdown of various Challenges and opportunities for growthfactories affected global supply chains and negatively impacted APAC is undoubtedly a rising market with great potential. Although manufacturing, delivery schedules and raw material sales. the pandemic has negatively infuenced its economy, the region is Additionally, sealed borders made it diffcult to procure raw showing strong economic growth again. It is listed as one of the materials such as ink, label stock, plates and dies. fastest-growing markets globally, with indicators way above other more mature markets like North America or Western Europe.Long Covid or fast recovery ‘Regional companies will embrace the opportunity for growth ‘The global economic outlook during the pandemic saw a decrease and will know that it represents both an advantage and a in gross domestic product and supply chain challenges,’ says challenge,’ says Jake Roberts, sales director of Sandon Global. ‘The Singapore-based Arnon Goldman, general manager for HP in Asia advantage will lie in the increased revenue opportunities, but that Pacifc. ‘As a result, the print industry was impacted by lower will, of course, be countered by the challenges. Elsewhere in the demand and volume slowdown. We immediately set out focused world, we’ve already seen increasing demand for shorter-run work, plans to support our customers and partners aimed at business with fast turnaround expectations and a greater variation in print continuity and the needs of customers. Since then, we have seen quality demands. As the market grows, so do these more exacting many of our print service providers (PSPs) demonstrate business requirements and increasing quality standards, all of which require agility and a quick reaction to ever-changing market demands by technical know-how and agility to uphold consistently.’shifting more volume to digital print and leveraging the versatility ‘The growth provides a good incentive for companies to invest in of our presses to offer new types of products and services.’ the region. The APAC region is characterized by its large population, ‘I believe that many companies faced the same issues with longer rising living standards and urbanization trends,’ notes Jane Tan of delivery times beyond their control,’ agrees Lena Chmielewska- Press Systems Group. ‘These are the principal factors driving Bontron, European marketing manager at press manufacturer Mark consumption across all aspects of the packaging market. Andy. ‘This meant we all had to change our logistics and supply Overall penetration of supermarkets and convenience stores chains. The advantage for Mark Andy was that most elements are is relatively low compared with more mature markets. produced in-house at our factory in St Louis, USA.’ Therefore, there is sustainable growth potential in PSG’s The pandemic affected the regional labels market as key markets, which include Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines, consumption and demand plummeted due to government Thailand and Malaysia.’restrictions and businesses closing. XSYS, on the other hand, warns that high growth also ‘The impact of the pandemic on business has been a mixed presents various challenges for individual companies, bag, varying by segment and country. In general, we saw a rise in including PSPs. ‘The main challenge for regional demand in the tag and label sector and fexible packaging,’ adds companies would be staff retention, Roy Schoettle, vice president of the Asia-Pacifc region at XSYS. new recruitment, and staff ‘This was largely driven by the high demand for pharmaceutical training and development. Like and sanitary products and by the rise in at-home consumption in the rest of the world, the of packaged goods. However, other areas, such as the beverage conditions are tough in industry, dropped. From a regional perspective, China performed the Asia-Pacifc region strongly, whereas India, for example, experienced a decline.’ at the moment with ‘In general, our business has remained resilient despite the severe cost pressures, impact of government lockdowns,’ says Benjamart Fagg (Jane Tan), managing director of Press Systems Group (PSG), a Thailand-based labelsandlabeling.com