Understand the key trends shaping demand and future opportunities...
Understand the key trends shaping demand and future opportunities across industries in Eastern Europe, with the latest regional and country-level analysis and market statistics.
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…
Other dairy registered relatively modest growth in retail volume terms in 2023, following the declines of the previous two years. High unit prices, combined with a slowly recovering foodservice industry, following the easing of pandemic restrictions,…
Plant-based dairy recorded a positive sales performance towards the end of the review period, although growth rates during 2022 and 2023 were considerably slower than what was registered earlier in the review period. While demand for plant-based…
Plant-based dairy is the winner in 2023, enjoying healthy volume growth and strong value sales alike. This positive dynamic is supported by the fact that plant-based dairy in Romania is growing from a relatively small base. While plant-based dairy…
Plant-based dairy products continued to gain popularity in Slovakia in 2023, although the rate of growth in retail volume terms was much slower than that seen during the first half of the review period. Demand is being driven by a growing number of…
Yoghurt and sour milk products registered a negative retail volume sales performance in 2023 and this can be attributed largely to the non-essential status of these products. Unlike cheese and drinking milk products, yoghurt has never been seen as an…
Yoghurt and sour milk products is facing the cross-category trends of value sales being driven by increased unit prices, with volume sales in a slump. The growth of average unit prices in 2023 is a consequence of high inflation, a deficit of raw milk…
As Serbians returned to pre-pandemic lifestyles in the latter half of the review period, retail volume sales of yoghurt and sour milk was pushed into decline. In 2023, consumers are still spending more time outside of the home and are enjoying eating…
Retail volume sales of yoghurt saw a modest decline in 2023, albeit at a slower rate than the previous year. This was due to the fact that Slovak households still felt the full impact of high inflation and cut but back on non-essential expenditure.…
Baby food is witnessing marginal declines in retail volume terms, due to the falling birth rate and negative population trends in Macedonia. The declining numbers of live births to Macedonian women in recent years has limited demand for baby food,…
Milk formula is contracting in volume terms overall due to the declining birth rate and stronger promotion of breastfeeding. Much of the latter has been facilitated by the establishment of a special association that supports breastfeeding. There is…
The butter and spreads category is seeing marginal volume decline in 2023 as inflationary pressures continue to take its toll. While margarine and spreads continues to decline in retail volume terms, butter is growing moderately despite the shrinking…
Butter and cooking fats are declining in volume terms due to growing health awareness. Considerable publicity in the media is raising awareness about the unhealthy effects of butter and fats. Health experts identified butter as one of the key…
In the face of rising prices, cheese consumption remains stable in retail volume terms as this product range remains a popular item in everyday cuisine. Its versatility is a key reason for such high demand, as it can be used in preparing various…
The cheese category is growing in volume and value terms. Inflation is driving the value growth of the category while the functional and health effects provided by consuming cheese are driving the volume growth of the category, where spreadable…
Dairy products and alternatives is witnessing a slowdown in retail volume growth and strong current value growth in 2023, amidst strong inflationary pressure and rising unit prices of dairy products. Production costs have remained high since the…
The health and wellness trend is driving the development of dairy products in Slovenia. Fat free or no added sugar products are popular and will likely remain a trend for the first few years of the forecast period. Cheese and yoghurt are perceived as…
In 2023, increased fodder prices have driven up unit prices of locally sourced raw milk, as well as the price of domestic and regional drinking milk brands. Nonetheless, consumer demand remains stable due to the abundance of locally and regionally…
Shelf-stable milk is growing at a faster rate than fresh milk. Driven by hectic lifestyles and limited time, consumers are increasingly opting to buy milk in bulk that they can keep on their shelves at home until it is consumed thanks to its longer…
Other dairy is witnessing robust growth in 2023 thanks to rising unit prices, as a result of inflationary pressure, coupled with relatively stable and uninterrupted consumer demand for products in this particular category. The prevalence of home…
Mlekarna Celeia is a leading player in the category with a wide range of products for adults and children. Zott’s Monte brand is also performing well, launching new products with no added sugar, attracting more health-orientated consumers. Private…
Candidacy for European Union (EU) membership could improve Bosnia and Herzegovina’s (BiH) economic freedom, although corruption is pervasive. The country has a relatively diversified economic base and whilst inflation is moderating, the economy is…
Plant-based dairy is growing in both volume and value sales. An increased number of vegans in the population and growing numbers of people who suffer from allergies or food intolerance are forcing consumers towards dairy-free diets. This in turn is…
Health and wellness trends continue to drive consumption of yoghurt and sour milk products in 2023. Plain yoghurt is very popular in North Macedonia due to its use as an everyday ingredient to prepare healthy meals and snacks. Younger consumers…