When size matters: Are small label converters facing new headwinds in 2023?

Many small converters (annual sales of less than $10 million) have had banner years in 2021 and 2022. Buoyed by surges in some key verticals like food, transportation and logistics, household chemicals and electronics, the primary challenge for many converters the past few years has been how to manage growth and ensure that their production floors have enough capacity to accommodate that growth.

Due to the different types of work LPC does in the industry, we speak with small label converters across the United States and Europe on a weekly basis. We have a front row seat to the double-digit growth so many of these companies have witnessed over the past two to three years, in addition to the softening that is occurring for many of them now as brands and retailers brace for an economic slowdown and are exercising more caution when it comes to printed packaging procurement spending.

However, smaller converters are facing an additional headwind in today’s supply chain landscape that they previously haven’t had to contend with to the same extent. Research is showing us that brands and label buyers are demonstrating a marked preference for larger