Eastern Europe

The inflationary climate in Bosnia and Herzegovina intensified in 2023, resulting in strong double-digit current value growth of drinking milk products. The higher price of locally and regionally sourced raw milk has pushed up average unit prices in…

Drinking milk is expected to register healthy current value and volume growth in 2023. A significant number of newly-arrived migrants from Ukraine, escaping from the war, is also expected to increase volume sales. However, inflation is expected to…

Drinking milk is expected to register moderate volume growth in 2023. Drinking milk is a staple and this supports volume sales. In addition, the recent influx of migrants from Ukraine, Russia and Belarus as a result of the war in Ukraine, also boosts…

In November 2022, the government placed a price cap on selected basic food, and the regulation was extended until 30 June 2023. The 2.8% fat content UHT cow milk was among the food with frozen prices, leading to minimal single-digit growth for the…

Cow's milk is facing stagnating sales in 2023 as demand continues to wane due to the price increases of 2022. Rising energy costs together with logistics and ingredient costs have forced manufacturers to raise average prices. The purchase price of…

In 2023, dairy producers in Poland employed innovative marketing campaigns to stimulate the sales of drinking milk products. The Dairy Cooperative Piatnica (OSM Piatnica) launched a notable campaign promoting its fresh milk, distinguished by its…

The rising purchase price of milk over 2022, motivated farmers to increase production. This increase was reflected on the consumer's side, with retail milk volume increasing in 2022. This was partly the result of population increase, with almost half…

In 2023, other dairy is witnessing very strong growth in current value terms, mainly as a result of the rising unit prices amidst inflationary pressure. Despite the higher prices, consumer demand is fairly stable resulting in moderate retail volume…

Other dairy continues to be a sizeable product area, largely supported by the popularity of cream and fromage frais and quark. In 2023, it is expected to register minimal constant value growth and moderate volume growth. In 2023, chilled desserts is…

Cream continues to be the largest product area in terms of volume sales in 2023, with the bulk of cream sales accounted for by sour cream, which is a traditional product in Georgia. Sour cream is frequently paired with traditional Georgian dishes…

The international price of raw milk decreased in 2023, which resulted in a slight price compensation for sour cream and other dairy products. Besides, in order to break sanctioned inflation, the government introduced a new anti-inflation tool, which…

Due to the economic uncertainty in the country, most other dairy categories are showing a drop in volume sales in 2023, especially chilled and shelf stable desserts as they are not perceived to be essential items. Decline is also attributable to the…

As the popularity of home cooking rises, spurred by lessons learned during the pandemic and ongoing inflation in Poland, Poles are increasingly preparing meals at home. This trend is expected to drive sales of dairy products often used as…

As the situation around COVID-19 began to resolve in 2022, people were returning to work. However, the war in Ukraine caused inflation, with the price of raw milk rising, hampering growth. Since products such as desserts, fromage frais and creams are…

Consumer demand for plant-based dairy picked up in 2023, resulting in strong double-digit current value growth and a better performance in retail volume sales compared to the previous year. There is a growing appetite for dairy alternatives and…

While sales are still relatively low, there is an appetite for plant-based dairy and it is expected to register very healthy current value and volume growth in 2023. Value sales are largely driven by younger consumers, who consider plant-based…

As in many countries, Hungary is seeing a notable rise in interest in plant-based diets, with many consumers looking to cut down their consumption of meat and dairy products, even if they are not fully committing to vegetarian or vegan diets.…

Plant-based dairy has grown rapidly from a low base in Latvia; however, growth is slowing due to the high prices of plant-based products as the purchasing power of the population is declining due to economic uncertainty in the country. Consuming…

In recent years, there has been a marked shift in the range of products available on store shelves in Poland, with plant-based milks now available in almost every shop, offering a wide selection. Similarly, once hard to find, plant-based yoghurts and…

With the increased popularity of plant-based products, many people are making these products at home. This trend was mostly visible during the COVID-19 pandemic, when people spent more time in the household; however, the worsening economic situation…

Yoghurt and sour milk products registered positive retail volume growth and solid current value growth in 2023 as consumer demand remained stable despite high inflation and pressure on house or incomes. Indeed, current value growth was backed by…

Yoghurt and sour milk products is expected to register muted constant value growth, but healthy volume growth in 2023. A significant number of newly-arrived migrants from Ukraine, escaping from the war, is also expected to increase volume sales.…

Sour milk products continues to account for the highest proportion of sales in yoghurt and sour milk products, with volume sales roughly four times higher than yoghurt and value sales nearly 2.5 times higher. The dominant position of sour milk…

The leading market players' sales figures showed that customers preferred products that supported the immune system during the pandemic. This demand continued during 2023, with Actimel retaining a prominent position in the drinking yoghurt market.…

Yoghurt and sour milk drinks recorded a drop in sales in 2023 as they remained rather expensive in the year following significant price increases in 2022. With economic uncertainty and declining purchasing power in Latvia, consumer demand for these…

In 2023, the Polish yoghurt market was dominated by three main players: Zott Polska, Bakoma, and Danone. Lactalis Polska had substantially bolstered the drinking yoghurt mix segment. Bakoma offered premium yoghurts in several flavours, including…

Inflation in the Czech Republic has impacted the results for yoghurt and sour milk products. The increase in prices of raw milk, transportation and energy has caused the prices of final products to rise, which has led to a decline in volume sales –…

During 2023, baby food Lithuania registered moderate positive sales growth in retail volume terms, while value sales increased strongly as a result of inflation and subsequent unit price increases. The main reason for the positive developments in the…

Value growth in baby food is being supported by inflation and, thus, high unit prices in 2023, whereas volume is flat. Unit prices have been pushed up by the rising costs for transport, storage, and distribution logistics, in particular for baby…

Baby food is witnessing robust growth in retail volume and current value terms as consumers return to their pre-pandemic lifestyles. Parents are spending less time at home and therefore have more limited time for cooking children’s meals. At the same…

Retail volume sales of baby food in Slovakia saw a modest contraction in 2023. While the category was fairly resilient to the impact of price increases, due to the fact parents are accustomed to prioritising the health and wellbeing of their…

Butter recorded positive retail volume growth in Lithuania during 2023 after retail volume sales in the category fell over the course of 2022 in the face of high average unit price growth. However, falling unit prices in 2023 did mean negative value…

Value growth in butter and spreads is being supported by high unit prices, while volume remains in a decline. These factors are in direct correlation, as the skyrocketing prices, driven by inflationary pressures and increases in costs, mean…

In 2023, butter and spreads continue to register strong current value growth, but minimal volume growth. High inflation, amid the ongoing war in Ukraine, is dampening retail volume sales. The slight volume growth is driven mainly by butter, which is…

Retail volume sales of butter began to recover in 2023, following a steep decline in the previous year. The latter was due mainly to rising raw milk and energy prices, which had an impact on production costs, and ultimately, unit prices With high…

Cheese recorded stagnant retail volume growth in Lithuania during 2023, although value growth was still exceptional in current terms as the impact of high inflation boosted unit prices and value sales significantly, albeit at a slower pace than…

Cheese is experiencing the cross-category trend of value being supported by high prices, whereas volume is being suppressed by low consumer spending power in the inflationary context. The overall volume declines in cheese are also the consequence of…

The local cheese industry is facing challenges in 2023, as imported products are favoured by retailers. In February 2023, the Serbian government introduced an import duty of 30 dinars per kilogram of cheese to protect domestic production from the…

Retail volume sales of cheese continued to decline in 2023, albeit at a lower rate than the previous year. Growth was hampered by inflationary pressures, which made it harder for Slovak households to afford to consume the product on a daily basis.…

Negative overall retail volume growth was recorded across dairy products and alternatives in 2023 as the industry saw falling demand as a result of high inflation and significant unit price increases at a time of significant increases being seen in…

The performance of dairy products and alternatives in 2023 remains under the impact of still-high inflation and the pushed up costs of living which significantly affect a large part of the population in Romania. In fact, 2023 witnesses a continuation…

In 2023, daily lifestyles returned to greater normality in terms of freedom of movement after the COVID-19 pandemic. Busier consumer lifestyles out of the home underpinned an increase in on-the-go consumption and the return to foodservice outlets.…

Thriftier shopping habits continued to impact retail volume sales of dairy products and alternatives in 2023. Despite the implementation of government measures aimed at reducing the impact of energy prices on Slovak households, the rate of inflation…

2023 saw further fluctuations in the retail volume sales performance of drinking milk products in Lithuania as demand contracted after positive growth was recorded in 2022. This followed a negative retail volume performance in 2021 after positive…

In an overarching cross-category trend, drinking milk products is seeing value growth supported by high unit prices driven by costs, alongside volume slumping in a price-sensitive environment. Indeed, unit prices at shelf level have been driven up by…

Milk production in Serbia is facing significant challenges in 2023. The decrease in the production of raw milk has led to a shortage of milk on retail shelves since the third quarter of 2022, with several Serbian regions facing a shortage of raw…

Drinking milk products in Slovakia saw a sluggish performance in retail volume terms in 2023, continuing the trend of the previous year. This was partly due to high raw milk and energy costs, which had a negative impact on retail prices. This led to…

Other dairy registered static retail volume growth in 2023 as reasonably consistent demand was seen in the most important other dairy categories of cream, fromage frais and quark and chilled snacks, where the traditional product sureliai holds sway.…

Other dairy is seeing value growth driven by price hikes associated with elevated costs, while volume is in a slump due to consumers’ weakened purchasing power in the inflationary context. Cream is the most important subcategory in other dairy, thus…

The return to pre-pandemic lifestyles is encouraging on-the-go consumption of other dairy products. Retail volume sales of chilled dairy desserts and chilled snacks are both benefitting from this trend, since they are considered good snacking…