While many commercial printers are flocking to the commercial label market, there’s a massive opportunity you might be missing out on—industrial labels. While the global (commercial) labels market is expected to reach $20.6 billion in 2025 with a steady 3.3% yearly growth (Freedonia Group), the global industrial labels market is set to hit a whopping $66.7 billion in 2023 and will continue to grow at an impressive CAGR of 5.2% through 2033 (Market Research Future). That’s three times higher!

Industrial labels are not only a larger market than commercial labels, but they are extremely profitable. In large part, this is due to the fact that they are highly repeatable.

Repeatability is a topic that is not often discussed in the commercial printing industry, but it is a key reason to branch out into products like these. Unlike one-off sales, which require the time and effort to be “sold” each time, once you sell a highly repeatable product into an account, that job tends to repeat month after month, year after year, without your intervention.

Industrial labels and business forms may not be sexy, but they are sold in extremely high volumes, and they are extremely profitable. Even if you don’t have the expertise in-house to sell repeatable products like these, consider being a reseller.  Choose an industrial labels or business forms vendor willing to train you. You be the front man, and let them be the expertise and production muscle that stands behind you.

Let’s look at seven key reasons you should consider reselling highly repeatable jobs like industrial labels (and business forms):

1. Less work.

With highly repeatable products, once you sell into the account, those jobs repeat over and over without additional work from you (other than maintaining the relationship with that account). This allows you to take the time you save selling into these accounts and use it to develop new accounts or cross-sell products in existing ones.

2. Higher level of customer retention.

Once you sell an industrial label or printed form into an account, this makes the account “sticky,” and you are more likely to retain it. This creates a level of protection against losing the account to a competitor. It also makes the account more profitable.

3. Higher profitability.

Your best customers are your existing customers, who tend to buy more frequently and in higher volumes. One study found that the success rate of selling to an existing customer is 60%-70%, compared to 5%-20% for a new customer. Another found that increasing customer retention by 5% increases profits from 25%-95%.

4. Predictable revenue.

With highly repeatable orders, you have a predictable income stream. This helps you plan and budget effectively. You know how much money is coming in each month from those accounts, enabling you to better forecast future revenue and make strategic decisions. In contrast, with one-off sales, revenue can be unpredictable, making it difficult to plan.

5. Increased customer lifetime value.

Customers who buy your products on a recurring basis are likely to stay with you longer and generate more revenue over their lifetime. This is called higher “lifetime customer value” or LCV.

6. More stable cash flow.

A recurring revenue model provides a more stable cash flow compared to one-off sales, which can vary significantly from month to month. This stability allows you to grow and expand your customer base and portfolio, knowing that you have a reliable income stream to support you.

7. Higher company valuations.

Let’s face it — many distributors are reaching a stage at which they are looking to retire. This means either closing or selling their businesses. Businesses that sell highly repeatable products are often valued higher than those relying on one-off sales. Investors and buyers prefer businesses with predictable revenue streams and lower risk of revenue fluctuations. (If you were an investor, wouldn’t you?)

So why should you build your business on highly repeatable products like industrial labels and forms? Because they provide predictable revenue, higher customer retention, higher profitability, increased customer lifetime value, more stable cash flow, and higher valuations.

What’s not to like about that?