Business / news
Rising Raw Material Costs Squeeze Sticker Makers and More
Vinyl prices have climbed nearly 6% in 2026, part of a broader increase in oil-derived materials like PVC and resin that is pressuring product manufacturers.
Ontario-based custom sticker manufacturer Sticker You is among the businesses feeling the pinch as raw material costs rise across the board. The company, founded in 2008, specializes in custom stickers with no minimum order quantities, but its key material—vinyl—has become significantly more expensive this year.
Vinyl prices are up nearly 6% in 2026, following a 2.9% rise last year and a 1.8% increase the year before that, according to federal data. Other oil-derived materials such as PVC and resin have also posted gains, driven by rising oil prices amid the war in Iran.
Sticker You founder and CEO Andrew Witkin said the company has insulated itself from recent price spikes by relying on automated retouching software that helps process orders faster. The software allows both domestic and international workers to handle orders, enabling the company to keep production running for 17 hours a day.
“We’ve created some more innovative software to allow that process to be more automated and more seamless, and that has reduced the amount of labor touch time on those files,” Witkin said. The margin pressure is being felt across manufacturing, affecting products from stickers to foil.