Market research on consumer products, commercial industries, demo...
Market research on consumer products, commercial industries, demographics trends and consumer lifestyles in Costa Rica. Includes comprehensive data and analysis, tables and charts, with five-year forecasts.
The commodities country overview provides comprehensive data on production, consumption and price trends on key commodities markets. The commodities overview in Costa Rica covers production and consumption trends in agricultural commodities, energy…
Insight into income, wealth and expenditure of consumers and households is vital in helping businesses make strategic decisions with regards to which country (or even which region within a country) to enter, which consumer segment to target, which…
Following a double-digit contraction in 2022, tobacco in Costa Rica showed a modest return to growth in total current value sales in 2023. The overall performance of the market in volume terms continued to be undermined by falling demand for…
E-vapour products in Costa Rica continued to post robust growth in volume and current value terms in 2023. Buoyant demand was underpinned by the fact that rising health awareness is driving more smokers to migrate from cigarettes and other forms of…
Cigars in Costa Rica recorded another solid performance in retail volume growth terms in 2023. Together with a rapid reduction in domestic inflation, which bolstered purchasing power among the population, the category’s strong showing reflected a…
Despite a significant reduction in domestic inflation, average unit prices for cigarettes in Costa Rica continued to rise in 2023. Indeed, official sources indicate the consumer price index (CPI) for these products increased at a faster rate than in…
The number of households is set to increase moderately, while the average household size will shrink in Costa Rica over 2023-2028. Couples with children will remain the dominant household type but the fastest household expenditure growth is forecast…
The report examines the economic landscape of Costa Rica and provides information on major monetary indicators, foreign trade and government finance. The economy expanded in real terms in 2023, driven by exports, private consumption, government…
Sun care in Costa Rica showed an improved performance in volume growth terms in 2023. This was partly due to a steep drop in inflation, which caused current value growth to slow significantly from 2022 but bolstered purchasing power among consumers.…
Conventional products continued to face growing competition from dermocosmetics in skin care in Costa Rica in 2023, with this trend remaining most visible in the premium segment. Recent years have seen dermocosmetic varieties offered by brands like…
E-commerce continued to gain importance in terms of premium beauty and personal care distribution in Costa Rica in 2023. While this was in keeping with the trend evident across the market as a whole, the channel’s rising penetration also reflected…
Global players such as Colgate, Listerine and Oral-B continued to dominate oral care in Costa Rica in 2023 due to their trusted reputations for quality and efficacy, broad product ranges and extensive distribution coverage. However, a number of…
In keeping with the trend observed earlier in the review period, multifunctional men’s grooming products continued to gain popularity in Costa Rica in 2023. Prominent examples included a Nivea Men liquid soap that is suitable for cleansing the body,…
Mass beauty and personal care products made with activated charcoal continued to gain popularity in Costa Rica in 2023. While penetration remained strongest in oral care, specifically in toothpaste and toothbrushes, rising consumer awareness of the…
Shampoos was the most dynamic of the main hair care categories in Costa Rica in terms of volume and current sales growth in 2023. Together with the fact that these products are considered a basic necessity by most consumers, it continued to benefit…
The premium segment continued to outperform its mass counterpart in volume and current value growth terms in fragrances in Costa Rica in 2023. While this was mainly because sales in the former were increasing from a much lower base, premium brands…
Depilatories in Costa Rica showed a markedly improved performance in volume terms in 2023, with overall sales increasing at a double-digit rate following marginal growth in 2022. This was partly explained by the strong recovery in consumer confidence…
Products with more innovative and distinctive functional claims continued to win over new consumers in deodorants in Costa Rica in 2023. One of the most notable examples was Speed Stick Carbon Absorb, which is made with activated charcoal and…
Longwear products continued to gain popularity across colour cosmetics in Costa Rica in 2023. The resumption of pre-pandemic routines was a key driver of demand, in that appreciation for the convenience of longer-lasting formulas increased as…
Beauty and personal care in Costa Rica recorded a slowdown in total current value sales growth in 2023, but saw total volume sales rebound at an impressive pace following a marginal decline in 2022. These results reflected a rapid reduction in…
During the early stages of the pandemic, bath and shower manufacturers in Costa Rica scrambled to develop new antibacterial varieties and update packaging designs to highlight the germ-killing capabilities of established products. This trend was…
During the initial years of the pandemic and for a period after associated restrictions were lifted, retail shelves in Costa Rica were somewhat lacking in variety when it came to baby and child-specific products, in that most stores only carried a…
Population growth in Costa Rica from 2021-2040 results from positive natural change and net migration; however, both will be on a downward trajectory. Rising living standards will drive ongoing ageing, with an increasing 65+ population shaping…
Baby wipes continued to record positive retail value growth in Costa Rica in 2023. These products benefit from having a versatile nature, being widely employed for various non-baby related uses. Brands like Scott, for instance, have introduced wipes…
In 2023, retail value growth was positive for tissue and hygiene in Costa Rica, with inflation and rising price points driving results. In 2022, Costa Rica experienced the highest inflation in over a decade, marking a significant economic shift. This…
In 2023, retail tissue in Costa Rica recorded positive retail value growth. Due to rising prices, consumers were increasingly seeking savings without compromising the quality of their retail tissue products. Consumers in Costa Rica expect a certain…
In 2023, retail adult incontinence products in Costa Rica recorded strong levels of double-digit retail value growth. This growth was driven by high price points, in addition to the ageing population, which is fuelling the demand for adult…
Nappies/diapers/pants recorded positive retail value growth in 2023 in Costa Rica. Despite rising prices, brand loyalty is generally strong in nappies/diapers/pants, where Huggies and Pampers are the leading choices, and consumers are generally…
Menstrual care in Costa Rica recorded double-digit retail value growth in 2023, driven by prices and the essential nature of the products. To aid sales, sanitary pads, tampons and panty liners had a VAT rate of 1% from 1 February 2023, down from the…
In 2023, the resurgence of tourism in Costa Rica drove notable growth in the away-from-home (AFH) retail tissue sector. From January to June 2023, Costa Rica witnessed a remarkable surge in tourist arrivals, registering a substantial 21% increase…
Volume growth in toilet care was muted. Two factors led to the muted growth. With the pandemic having passed, there was less frenetic cleaning. In addition, with inflation still being relatively high, consumers traded down as much as possible and…
Overall, surface care registered muted volume growth in 2023. However, given the diversity of this product area, some products performed better than others. Reckitt Benckiser continued to have a strong lead in surface care, thanks to its wide…
Demand for polishes has remained steady over the review period, as consumers continue to regularly use floor and furniture polish, as part of their cleaning routine. That being said, volume growth was muted, as competing products such as surface care…
Laundry care registered healthy current and constant value growth in 2023, though volume growth was much more muted. Powder detergent continued to be the most popular format, followed by liquid detergent. Liquid detergent, however, registered the…
There were significant price rises for home-insecticides in 2023, and in particular for spray/aerosols, as supply chain disruptions still lingered and this resulted in high current and constant value growth. However, despite significant price…
While there was still economic uncertainty, inflationary pressure eased significantly in 2023, even falling into deflation territory for part of the year. With the improved economic situation, home care registered healthy current value and modest…
Dishwashing registered healthy volume growth in 2023, as price increases eased. Hand dishwashing continued to account for most value sales and also registered the highest value and volume growth. As such, value sales for automatic dishwashing…
Value sales for bleach continued to slow, and consumers increasingly favoured less toxic home care products. Bleach has been cast in a negative light in terms of environmental and also health impacts. As such, consumers are looking to reduce bleach…
Air care was the weakest performer in terms of volume growth in 2023. While air care registered both high current and constant value growth, volume growth was marginal. The increased prices dampened volume demand and consumers prioritised essential…
The tea category did not experience the marked price increases seen in coffee. Instead, tea unit prices increased at a more modest pace, with the category poised to see prices fall in the coming years, in line with the consumer price index. Overall,…
In the post-pandemic era, Costa Ricans have resumed sports and exercise regimes, including group activities and competitions. Sports drinks has benefited from this return to normalcy as consumers use them to fuel during sports and/or refuel after…
Soft drinks faced a difficult year in 2023 as high levels of inflation were exacerbated by the appreciation of the Costa Rica Colón vis-à-vis the US dollar. Inflation led to unit price increases across a range of soft drinks categories, although…
Despite the inflationary climate in Costa Rica, the RTD tea category did not experience the same sudden price increases as other soft drinks. This benefited the category in terms of both volume and value growth as consumers did not feel as compelled…
RTD coffee products saw notable unit price increases over the review period, due in large part to the steep price movements of coffee in 2022. Given the relatively small size of RTD coffee in Costa Rica, the higher unit prices associated with these…
Other hot drinks has witnessed only slight unit price increases in recent years, which has resulted in stable volume and value growth in the category. Sales in the on-trade channel continue to recover from the pandemic, aided by the return of…
The juice category was negatively affected by the high inflation affecting the country, with some of the highest unit price increases within soft drinks being applied to juices. In addition to persistent inflationary pressures, issues regarding the…
Inflation has taken its toll on hot drinks in Costa Rica, striking the coffee category especially hard in 2022. Conditions were exacerbated by the swift and unexpected appreciation of the colon vis-à-vis the dollar, which created a set of challenging…
As Costa Rica confronted some of the highest inflation registered in decades, the energy drinks category saw a notable increase in unit prices. Nevertheless, energy drinks has managed to see a solid performance overall. Penetration of energy drinks…
Persistent inflationary pressures in the country have affected the concentrates category, especially powder concentrates that also saw an increase in the cost of raw materials over the review period. Players largely absorbed these higher production…
In 2023, coffee prices began to normalise in the country, with much slower inflation taking hold from July 2023. Consequently, most consumers began to return to previous consumption patterns, creating a favourable impact on retail volume growth in…