Asia Pacific

While the dog population has been declining, the cat population has been expanding, and this is expected to continue in 2024. In a notable shift, the cat population surpassed that of dogs for the first time in 2021, and the gap has continued to widen…

Demand for cat food in Hong Kong continues to rise, fuelled by the expanding cat population, while the premium segment emerges as the stronger performer in terms of value growth. Consumers actively choose snacks that have both taste and functionality…

Cat food in India is expected to maintain dynamic retail volume and current value growth in 2024. Due to increasing urbanisation, consumers are moving to smaller homes. As a result, they are seeking pets more suitable for limited spaces than dogs,…

Cat food is performing better than dog food in Indonesia in 2024. This is attributed to a stronger predilection for people to keep cats over dogs (dogs require a greater amount of attention than cats, from exercise to training and general…

The rise in the average unit price of cat food in Japan was notably higher in 2023 compared to the first quarter of 2024, resulting in stronger volume decline, while value sales have benefited. Some of the demand in economy dry cat food has been…

Cat food is set to see solid retail volume and current value growth in Malaysia in 2024, with higher growth rates than those seen in 2023, but not as high as in the years prior. The rising cat population is one major factor in the continued strong…

Overall, retail volume growth of cat food in Singapore is expected to see another year of slowdown in 2024, as the population of pet cats saw a slower increase in 2023, and this is set to continue in 2024. In addition, 2023 saw rising cases of pet…

Cat food is expected to maintain strong growth in South Korea in 2024, with a high single-digit current value increase, continuing the trend observed in 2023. However, the increases in these two years were lower than the steady double-digit growth…

Significant improvements were seen in pet registration in Taiwan towards the end of the review period, with registered cat ownership growing at a faster rate than registered dog ownership, mainly due to rapid growth in cat ownership among people aged…

The increasing preference for cat ownership over dogs is reshaping the dynamics of pet food, particularly for cat food in Thailand. As cats require less food and medication compared to dogs, the demand for cat food is rising steadily as the cat…

In recent years, sales of cat food increased significantly due to rising cat ownership, although the number of cats remained far lower than the number of dogs in the country. The expansion in the cat population attracted many players to the category,…

Cat food is seeing healthy growth in Vietnam in 2024, in both value and volume terms. Indeed, as seen with the evolving education about the care and wellbeing of animals in the country, this is also benefitting cats as well as dogs. With more…

There has been a decline in the number of high net worth individuals (HNWI) in Hong Kong since 2020. In response, charge card operators such as American Express and Diners Club are determined to customise their latest offers to better cater for this…

Charge cards in India remained a niche category within financial cards and payments in 2023, largely due to higher eligibility criteria for issuance. Given the higher credit score and minimum salary requirement for a charge card in comparison to…

In 2023, the charge cards category has experienced positive growth, both in terms of volume and value transactions. Similarly to the previous year, growth has largely been driven by the revival of normal social and economic activity in the wake of…

Charge cards continue to struggle to appeal widely, and consumer demand is set to remain relatively low at the end of the review period. This situation is confirmed by the limited supply of charge cards from banking institutions in Malaysia. Indeed,…

Charge card transactions have demonstrated a consistent upward trajectory in terms of transaction volume and retail value in 2023, coinciding with the resurgence of travel activities in Southeast Asia as pandemic-related restrictions have been…

Despite being historically less popular in Taiwan due to limited merchant acceptance compared to VISA, MasterCard, and JCB, American Express (AMEX) is making significant strides in the market. The key to its success lies in the exclusive benefits and…

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the charge card category declined significantly due to restrictions on all activities such as traveling, dining and entertainment, which impacted normal patterns of expenditure. In the post-pandemic era, consumers have…

As charge cards caters to higher-income earners, it is still only small in the Philippines in 2022. Credit cards have low penetration in the country and it is thus to be expected that more premium card products will have an even smaller market. Even…

American Express signed a partnership with Vietnam JSC Bank for Industry & Trade (Vietinbank) in 2021 to increase acceptance of its cards in Vietnam. However, charge cards are not issued in Vietnam and there is unlikely to be any significant demand…

Retail price inflation slowed down in 2023 and this had a positive effect on the cheese category, with retail volume sales rising at a steady pace. Still, the cheese category remains import-dependent, a factor that also influences pricing. The war in…

While the COVID-19 pandemic control measures have eased, and logistics and offline consumption have rebounded, it is anticipated that in 2023, both the retail value and volume sales of cheese will continue to experience a double-digit decline. This…

Sales of cheese in Hong Kong are expected to experience a significant retail current value boost in 2023, mainly due to a substantial rise in the average unit price. The overall unit price of cheese is set to increase by over 10% compared with the…

Retail demand for cheese in India continued to grow in 2023, as major players introduced new variants and expanded their ranges to cater for different consumption occasions. There is increasing demand for Western breakfasts among urban households,…

The COVID-19 pandemic increased awareness and acceptance of cheese in Indonesia, which continues in 2023. During lockdown there was increased interest in cooking and baking at home, and cheese became more widely used as an ingredient. In addition,…

Cheese is set to see solid growth in retail current value terms in Japan in 2023, largely driven by unit price increases due to inflation and the rising cost of raw materials and energy. Major dairy players such as Megmilk Snow Brand, Meiji Co Ltd,…

Though cheese is expected to register double-digit current value growth, volume sales are expected to fall slightly. Kazakhstan has strong trade links with Russia in particular and its war in Ukraine is negatively impacting the Kazak economy and…

The dominant category in both retail volume and value terms, processed cheese (excluding spreadable), is being developed by significant new product development towards the end of the review period. The domestic foodservice operator QSR Trading Sdn…

The rapid urbanisation across all regions of Pakistan is fuelling growth of cheese in 2023, alongside the increasing interest in Western lifestyles and diets, which is largely due to the increasing exposure to social media among affluent urban…

In 2023, the High Court of Singapore ruled that the term “Parmesan” is a translation of the Italian term “Parmigiano Reggiano”. According to the ruling, only Parmigiano Reggiano DOP (Denominazione di Origine Protetta) cheese produced in a particular…

In 2023, cheese in South Korea is expected to continue to thrive in retail current value terms, building on the positive growth observed in the previous year. However, a notable opposite trend has emerged in volume terms, as all cheese categories…

Similar to butter, the demand for cheese began to wane in the latter half of 2022. Consumers reverted to their habits of dining out, leading to a decreased inclination to cook and bake at home.

As cheese in not typically a main ingredient in Thai cuisine, tourism is an integral factor towards sales and, thus, cheese was affected by the event of the COVID-19 pandemic due to the lack of tourism during this time. As such, cheese manufacturers…

Despite continued inflationary pressures, cheese continued to exhibit a robust performance in retail volume terms in 2023. As the cost of cheese was prohibitive for some consumers, economy-priced spreadable and processed offerings, such as Cheese…

Cheese is expected to be one of the weaker dairy performers in 2023, with more muted volume growth. Hard cheese in particular performs badly and is expected to register a fall in volume sales, with soft, more affordable soft cheese continuing to…

Like butter and spreads, cheese remains one of the smaller categories within dairy products and alternatives in Vietnam, as it is not traditionally used in the local cuisine. A low level of awareness amongst the local population is also evident due…

As pandemic restrictions were lifted in China at the beginning of 2023, bricks-and-mortar sales have gradually been returning after the 2022 decline due to periodic lockdowns. The apparel and footwear industry, including childrenswear, is therefore…

With the removal of lockdowns and the reopening of Hong Kong’s border, sales of childrenswear have notably rebounded in 2023. However, local demand for childrenswear remains tepid. The declining birth rate in Hong Kong was already placing pressure on…

Childrenswear has been experiencing a notable surge in sales, fuelled by younger parents’ changing preferences and spending habits. With the rise of dual-income households, these parents possess more significant disposable incomes, enabling them to…

Childrenswear saw more modest growth in retail volume terms in 2023, relative to the two previous years. Compared to other areas of apparel and footwear, such as menswear, womenswear and hosiery, sales were comparatively unaffected by the COVID-19…

Childrenswear did not perform well even before the pandemic, as the number of children has been continuously decreasing in Japan. Growth was then hit hard in 2020, experiencing a double-digit decline, followed by a year of little movement in 2021 as…

Compared to other areas of apparel and footwear, childrenswear saw relatively modest growth in current value terms in 2023. Sales of childrenswear were comparatively unaffected by the pandemic, as despite the lockdown, parents still needed to…

Despite Singapore experiencing a declining birth rate, with a record decline seen in 2022, childrenswear is set to maintain growth in both retail volume and current value terms in 2023. These increases can primarily be attributed to the lifting of…

In 2022, the total fertility rate in South Korea reached a new low of 0.78, with the number of newborns also dropping below 250,000 for the first time. The ongoing decline of new births in the country is resulting in falling retail volume sales for…

Overall volume and current value growth rates for childrenswear in 2023 are set to be more modest than those recorded by womenswear and menswear, primarily because birth rates in Taiwan are in long-term decline. This demographic trend has resulted in…

The purchasing behaviour of Thai parents and guardians is becoming more sophisticated when it comes to purchasing childrenswear. While they are still looking for value-for-money they are also increasingly focusing on both fashion and product quality.…

The COVID-19 crisis had a differing impact on birth rates in different countries. In the Philippines, there was a baby boom, as an increased birth rate resulted from families being cooped up in their homes during the period of lockdowns. This has led…

During the height of the pandemic era (2020 and 2021), sales of childrenswear plummeted in value and volume terms as children were required to stay at home, by government diktat, and schools were closed. However, the end of the pandemic, alongside…

While chocolate confectionery in Azerbaijan is poised to record a moderately improved result in current value growth terms in 2024, this is mainly attributable to price hikes imposed to offset elevated inflation linked to the global recovery from the…