Eastern Europe

Energy drinks in Serbia have experienced notable volume sales growth, primarily driven by the return to pre-pandemic lifestyles. The busier pace of life further encourages the consumption of energy drinks. Leading players in this market retain their…

Powder concentrates persist as a traditional product familiar to many Serbians. The area boasts several robust local players in both liquid and powder concentrates, fuelling further development. The escalating prices and decline in disposable income…

As prices rise and disposable incomes decline, Serbians are reassessing their daily purchases, notably reducing consumption of non-essential items like carbonated beverages. Health-conscious consumers are shifting towards healthier alternatives and…

Bottled water in Serbia experienced a volume sales recovery in 2023, driven by the return to pre-pandemic lifestyles, with consumers embracing on-the-go water consumption. Functional bottled water witnessed the fastest volume sales growth, attributed…

Sports drinks was already a niche even before the pandemic, but what sales did exist registered heavy losses following Russia’s invasion in early 2022. Many men joined the armed forces in response to the invasion and as such were forced to give up…

Sales of soft drinks have been significantly impacted by Russia’s war in Ukraine and soaring inflation. Besides the resulting decline in the population and the loss of territories, the market also faces other obstacles including consumers downtrading…

RTD tea suffered significant losses during 2022 as category was not a priority for either manufacturers or consumers. The supply of these products was limited, while there were out-of-stock situations seen during the high season. There is also a…

RTD coffee only started to gain a significant presence in Ukraine during the pandemic but after a bright start the category saw a steep decline in 2022 because of the impact of Russia’s invasion on the supply chain and import issues. Leading retailer…

Juice was one of the hardest hit soft drinks categories following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and it saw only a modest recovery in retail volume terms in 2023. The category lost a tangible share of its key target audience following Russia’s…

Energy drinks was the only soft drinks category in Ukraine to see retail volume growth both in 2022 and 2023. This dynamic growth related to the strong increase in demand from volunteers, doctors, armed forces, and other people looking for an energy…

Demand for concentrates is very limited in Ukraine, although the category did see a return to growth in retail volume terms in 2023 with these products benefiting from their affordability. Concentrates are mainly consumed by price-sensitive older…

Sales of carbonates suffered heavy losses in 2022, although there were several factors that prevented heavier losses and which have helped to support a return to growth in 2023. First, sales were supported by the presence of the core target audience…

Sales of bottled water suffered heavy losses in retail volume terms in 2022 as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with a huge section of the population fleeing the country in search of safety. Nonetheless, bottled water saw a more modest…

Though value sales are still relatively low for sports drinks in Georgia, it is expected to register healthy volume growth in 2023, in what is an emerging product area. However, distribution is still limited and sports drinks are mainly sold in…

Soft drinks is expected to register healthy volume growth in 2023, despite continuing economic uncertainty as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Geopolitical tensions in the region has led to a significant increase in the number of immigrants…

RTD tea is expected to continue on a healthy retail volume growth trajectory in 2023. Volume growth is even higher, and in the double digits, for foodservice channels, where an influx of recently-arrived immigrants from Ukraine, Russia and Belarus,…

Volume sales continue to be low for RTD coffee and in 2023, volume growth is expected to be muted. One factor holding back growth is the limited range of brands on offer and distribution is mainly through modern grocery retailers, with limited…

Juice is expected to register double-digit retail volume growth and even higher volume growth through foodservice channels. Foodservice in particular is buoyed by an increasing number of tourists, as well an influx of immigrants from Ukraine, Russia…

Energy drinks are increasingly popular in Georgia and in 2023 energy drinks are expected to register the highest volume growth of all soft drinks. The range of energy drinks on offer in also growing and this is supporting volume growth. Consumers…

Carbonates is expected to register healthy retail volume growth and even higher volume growth through foodservice channels. Foodservice in particular is buoyed by an increasing number of tourists, as well an influx of immigrants from Ukraine, Russia…

While retail volume growth is expected to be positive for bottled water in 2023, it is one of the weaker performers among soft drinks in 2023. Volume growth through foodservice channels is also significantly lower than for other soft drinks, though…

The competition to sports drinks in Slovakia in 2023 came increasingly from functional bottled water, including bottled water products positioned as being rich in minerals, such as magnesium. This was because of the overlapping of the potential…

Following a decline in sales due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, sports drinks continued to gain ground in 2023, posting increased off-trade volume and value sales. With no restrictions in place, Romanians have become more willing to engage in…

Sports drinks is expected to register continuing healthy volume growth in what is an emerging product area. With consumers increasingly looking to be healthier and more active, this is driving volume growth of sports drinks. There is also a cohort of…

Only energy drinks is projected to see positive off-trade volume growth over 2023 as a whole. While there was a slow shift back to foodservice, as consumers more fully resumed pre-Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic work, social and travel norms,…

The soft drinks landscape in Romania recorded stagnate retail volume sales in 2023, with a similar performance to 2022. The main factors negatively impacting sales included rising inflation, the increased cost of raw materials and declining…

Soft drinks is expected to register muted volume growth in 2023, as a continuing declining population dampens volume sales somewhat. On the other hand, significant numbers of inbound visitors to Croatia in 2023, is expected to give volume sales a…

The off-trade demand for RTD tea in Slovakia suffered from colder than usual weather in 2023, as a cold spring combined with fewer tropical days during summer to negatively impact sales. In addition to this climatic factor, consumers were trying to…

RTD tea registered another year of strong growth in 2023, benefitting from a positive perception during rising health trends. Compared to other soft drink areas, RTD tea remains a highly concentrated market, with a small number of brands and…

RTD tea is expected to register moderate volume growth in 2023, despite continuing population decline. In particular, there has been some shift from carbonates and juice and this is expected to support volume growth. RTD tea is made up of still RTD…

More hectic and on-the-go lifestyles as consumers resumed work, social and travel norms, as the threat of COVID-19 and related restrictions were lifted, stimulated a demand for RTD coffee. However, demand limitation barriers arose in the form of the…

Coffee consumption has been soaring in Romania, with a strong performance both in the online and the offline. In the context of a growing coffee culture in the country, RTD coffee registered another year of strong volume growth. The performance is…

Value sales are still low for RTD coffee in Croatia, in what is an emerging product area. In 2023, RTD coffee is expected to register moderate volume growth, though continuing rising prices dampen volume growth to an extent, especially as many of RTD…

The competition from cheaper drinks alternatives, such as flavoured bottled water and non alcoholic beer, was increasingly felt by juice in Slovakia towards the end of the review period. This was because the typical Slovak consumer was increasingly…

Juices continued outperforming carbonates in 2023, which are regarded as a healthier alternative. However, with rising levels of inflation and unit price increases, many Romanian consumers migrated to private labels. The juice category is becoming…

Stanic, with its To and Juicy brands, continues to lead current value and retail volume sales of juice in 2023, with consumers seeing the brands as good price/quality combinations. Second-leading player Vindija also maintains a double-digit value…

Unfavourable weather in spring and summer 2023 restricted the growth potential of energy drinks in both the retail and foodservice channels. In addition, weak purchasing power continued to limit local consumers’ ability to spend on relatively…

As interest in more active lifestyle grows, and the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions has increased movement, energy drinks has seen a positive performance in 2023. Aggressive promotion, both offline and online, is also contributing positively to the…

Energy drinks is expected to be the best performing soft drink in terms of volume growth in 2023. Energy drinks are particularly popular among the under 25 age group and are widely consumed at festivals and parties. It is also popular as a cocktail…

Liquid concentrates maintained a larger market size than powder concentrates, underpinned by a stronger retail presence and heavier marketing support. Highlighting the advantages of liquid concentrates, such as ease-of-use and flavour variety, has…

Concentrates saw low levels of volume growth in 2023, being a mature landscape with little room for growth. In addition, due to sugar content, concentrates are not always perceived as healthy products, and the rising interest in health and wellness…

Concentrates account for significant volume sales in Croatia, though it is a mature product area which has seen limited growth over the review period. In 2023, concentrates is expected to register muted volume growth, with the product area…

The demand for carbonates was negatively impacted by a cool early summer and cold weather in spring 2023. A further decrease in off-trade volume sales can partly be attributed from the recovery of the on-trade channel, which caused a shift in the…

Carrying the stigma of being unhealthy, off-trade sales of carbonates continued to decline in 2023. However, the on-trade channel has continued to record a positive performance, recovering from the impact of COVID-19, with consumers enjoying their…

Carbonates is expected to register only marginal volume growth in 2023. Carbonates are a mature product area, with little room for further growth, and added to this, the population continues to decline. Some consumers are also switching to other…

The demand for bottled water continued to suffer during 2023, as unfavourable weather conditions and weak purchasing power negatively impacted volume consumption. This was mostly visible in retail, as foodservice saw a late and slow recovery from the…

In 2023, the main drivers of growth for the bottled water landscape were consumers' reluctancy to drink tap water and the tradition of mineral water in the country. Nevertheless, the declining purchasing power in 2023 was reflected in a slowdown of…

Bottled water is expected to register positive volume growth in 2023. Though tap water is of good quality in Croatia, bottled water is often purchased on-the-go, as well as by tourists. In addition, a certain cohort of consumers are switching to…

Sports drinks is expected to register the highest volume growth among all sports drinks in 2023. That being said, this growth is from a very low base. With consumers increasingly looking to be healthier and more active, this is driving volume growth…

Overall, soft drinks is expected to register a minimal increase in retail volume sales. Continuing population decline dampens volume sales, as well as inflation, though price growth has eased. Growth is also muted through foodservice channels.