Eastern Europe

Gum is highly dependent on impulse purchases, on-the-go consumption, and as a breath freshener. Because of this, the post-pandemic return to social gatherings and office working post-pandemic led modest retail volume growth in 2023.

In the past few years, gum has experienced significant setbacks, with annual volume sales declining from between 5 and 23% during this period. The COVID-19 pandemic had a particularly negative impact on the gum category, but this was followed by a…

While gum is expected to register an increase in current value sales, constant value sales are expected to fall, due to high inflation. Volume growth is also expected to be marginal. Gum is gradually losing popularity and it increasingly gets bad…

There was an increase in retail volume sales of chocolate confectionery in 2023 due to two contributing factors. First, the lifting of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions has seen much of the local workforce return to the office after working from home,…

Chocolate confectionery continued to face inflationary pressures in 2023, following an increase of between 10-15% in unit prices in 2022. The war in Ukraine and subsequent changes in logistics impacted the supply chain and drove up variable costs. In…

Chocolate confectionery is expected to be the best performing snack in 2023, with healthy constant value and volume growth. Per capita consumption is on the rise, largely fuelled by a growing appetite for dark chocolate, which is seen as healthier.…

Despite the business landscape enjoying relative economic freedom, political instability has been a common feature of Slovakia. Although joblessness is relatively low, wages are increasing, also adding to very high inflation, whilst the war in…

Corruption continues to hamper economic freedom and fiscal health could be improved, but Romania has entered a period of political stability. Economic development is set to slow, as high inflation erodes purchasing power and has led to greater…

An unbiased judiciary weakens the rule of law and corruption is more prevalent, but the business environment continues to thrive. Although the economy is expected to slow markedly in the short term owing to high inflation, medium-term prospects are…

Cities are hubs for spending, with 80% of expenditure expected to be generated by urban areas in 2023. Spending growth in 2023 will, however, be sluggish, as cost of living challenges force consumers to be more conservative in their expenditure. Over…

Wine saw healthy growth in total volume terms in 2022 with sales boosted by a further recovery in sales through the on-trade. With COVID-19 fears subsiding and restrictions lifted consumers started to return to their old pre-pandemic lifestyles which…

Spirits registered strong growth in total volume terms in 2022 with this being driven by the continued recovery of the on-trade channel after the negative impact of the pandemic. On-trade sales of spirits continued to recover in 2022 as Serbians…

As seen across alcoholic drinks in Serbia, the growth of RTDs was driven by a further recovery in on-trade volume sales in 2022. With COVID-19 fears subsiding and restrictions lifted consumers spent more time outside the home socialising and going to…

Cider/perry in Serbia continued to see strong and stable volume growth in total volume terms in 2022, although growth continued to come from a small consumer base. The on-trade channel witnessed stronger volume and value growth although this was…

Serbians returned to the on-trade in greater numbers in 2022 as COVID-19 fears subsided and restrictions were lifted with this continuing to drive volume sales of beer. Lager remains by far the most popular beer in Serbia, although smaller beer…

As COVID-19 fears subsided in 2022 there was a strong desire among many Serbian consumers to start socialising again with this helping to stimulate on-trade volume growth with sales fully recovering after the significant decline seen during 2020.…

Companies face numerous challenges in 2023 after recent record-breaking sales. They include weakened demand, high interest rates on debts, and tighter consumer credit conditions. Elevated inventory levels are also of concern.

Sales of consumer electronics were negatively impacted as consumers cut down on discretionary purchases as prices of electronics products escalated despite the economic uncertainties.

Consumer Types can be a powerful tool to help companies better understand and appeal to their target markets. By going beyond typical demographic-based segmentation, such as age or gender, and grouping consumers based on shared traits and…

Warsaw and Lódz, Poland's thriving urban hubs, benefit from strong productivity, elevated consumer spending, and extensive service industries. Moreover, Lódz displays the highest potential for future economic expansion. However, challenges for the…