Eastern Europe

Hot drinks is expected to register moderate constant value growth in 2023, though volume sales are expected to decline, driven by a poor performance in coffee. Continuing economic uncertainty as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and high…

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…

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…

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…

Other hot drinks is expected to register healthy constant value and positive volume growth in 2023. Within foodservice, volume growth is very healthier, reaching the double-digits, and boosted by increasing numbers of foreign tourists, as well as an…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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 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…

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,…

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…

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…

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…

The picture is much rosier for tea than coffee in 2023, with healthy volume and constant value growth expected. Within foodservice, volume growth is even healthier, reaching the double-digits, and boosted by increasing numbers of foreign tourists, as…

The growth of air treatment products slowed down significantly in 2023, notably due to reduced sales of air purifiers. These were top sellers during the outbreak of COVID-19, benefiting from a heightened interest in health and hygiene. As such, in…

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…

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…

Coffee registered a retail volume decline in 2023, with retail value sales growth being the result of rising unit prices, high inflation and increasing costs for energy, transport and logistics. In addition, the price of the raw coffee bean grew,…

Both retail volume and retail value growth in consumer appliances declined in the Czech Republic in 2023, with sales facing several challenges. Following two years of record sales driven by COVID-19 and lockdowns, which led many consumers to focus on…

Dishwashers saw a strong uplift in sales during the outbreak of COVID-19, with long periods of home seclusion leading consumers to invest in home appliances. Many of these investments were made as consumers wanted to improve their living…

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…

Cordless mixers and blenders are yet to be popular in the Czech Republic, with many consumers preferring traditional models; not only because they are more affordable, but out of habit. Manufacturers will continue to offer cordless models, set to be…

Sales of home laundry appliances continued to slump in 2023, with many consumers having already updated their white goods during the lockdown-inspired home renovations. One of the trends seen during COVID-19 was a demand for quieter washing machines,…

Rising inflation and the heightened cost of living in Romania in 2023, negatively impacted retail volume sales of basic food and drinks, including hot drinks. Coffee sales were particularly challenged, with negative retail volume sales, as the unit…

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…

Although the mortgage market began stabilising in March 2023, the drop in new mortgages during 2021 and 2022 led to a slowdown in the real estate market. This impacted built-in kitchen sales, challenging appliance manufacturers while leading to a…

Freestanding microwaves continued to dominate retail volume sales during 2023, with consumers tending to switch to built-in models when they remodel the kitchen or buy a new home. However, the housing market's slowdown has hampered demand for…

The growth of other hot drinks in 2023 resulted from consumption changes noted during COVID-19, when working from home and studying from home became the norm. During this time, chocolate-based flavoured powder drinks, targeting children, saw an…

Body shavers witnessed a further retail volume decline in 2023, as these products were fast-selling during the outbreak of COVID-19, in line with heightened time spent in the household. As such, body shavers saw a decline compared to the previous…

Freestanding is the most popular format within refrigeration appliances, with 92% of overall volume in 2023. Built-in refrigeration appliances did not experience the same boom as freestanding refrigeration appliances did during COVID-19, as these…

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…

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,…

Retail volume and value sales of small cooking appliances declined in 2023. As in other categories of consumer appliances, the COVID-19 pandemic drove forward purchases of small cooking appliances impacted by periods of home seclusion. Moving into…

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…

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…

The growth in retail volume for tea in 2023 resulted from affordable prices and perceived health benefits, with tea aligning with the rising interest in health and wellness among consumers. As such, players marketed their teas as improving immunity…

Following a spike in sales during the outbreak of COVID-19, demand for robotic vacuum cleaners has lowered in 2023. The war in Ukraine and rising energy prices only accelerated this decline, with the product suffering from not being viewed as a…

In 2023, retail volume sales of air treatment products fell in Hungary, recording a decline. The country's most popular air conditioner type, split air conditioners, saw significant double-digit growth in 2022, with sales bolstered by the support of…

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…

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…

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…

Consumer appliances in Hungary recorded a retail volume decline in 2023, negatively impacted by rising inflation and reduced consumer spending power. With lower disposable incomes, many consumers focused on essential, necessary spending, with those…

In 2023, cooking ingredients and meals experienced robust volume growth alongside strong double-digit percentage increases in value terms. These achievements were largely driven by ongoing inflationary pressure and rising unit prices across all…

Built-in dishwashers benefited from the increasing need for convenient appliances in households, especially for consumers with new kitchen builds that want new appliances to integrate. Built-in dishwashers are increasingly selected over freestanding…

In 2023, edible oils witnessed stagnant retail volume growth, primarily due to static consumer demand and the saturation of leading categories, notably sunflower oil. Despite this, inflation significantly impacted unit prices, resulting in robust…

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…