Eastern Europe

Baby and child-specific products in Bosnia and Herzegovina is facing growing interest among local parents who are seeking beauty and personal care brands developed specifically for babies and children. Leading category players are focused on ensuring…

Rising consumer awareness of the importance of proper skin care for babies and children, especially in rural areas, has led to an increase in demand for baby and child-specific skin care products in Bulgaria. Overall, this was the best performing…

Baby and child-specific sun care was among the top performing categories across baby and child-specific products in Croatia during 2023, with volume sales rising strongly despite steep unit price increases over the course of the year. The main reason…

In 2023, baby and child-specific products recorded double-digit retail value growth. However, much of this was driven by inflation. Price hikes continued to add pressure to consumption patterns, with retail volume growth struggling in areas including…

Baby and child-specific products in Georgia registered healthy volume growth in 2023, as well as positive constant value growth. Baby wipes continues to account for most value sales and also registered the highest value growth. Another strong…

In 2023, prices of baby and child-specific products inevitably saw a significant price hike from manufacturers and retailers alike as Hungary continued to suffer from elevated inflation. As disposable income was squeezed a significant number of…

In Latvia, baby and child-specific products is a relatively small category in beauty and personal care. In 2023, retail volume sales declined due to further cutbacks together with the pressure of lower birth rates. Whilst lower inflation provided…

Baby and child-specific products in Lithuania recorded positive retail value growth in 2023, with positive retail volume growth in most areas, particularly sun care and hair care. The category has a very concrete consumer base, and when it comes to…

High inflation continued to impact baby and child-specific products in North Macedonia in 2023. There was only a minimal increase in constant value sales, with volume sales falling marginally, as the birth rate continued to fall. Medicated products…

In 2023, baby and child-specific products maintained dynamic current value growth in Poland. This growth was purely due to price rises, as volume sales were unable to return to growth. However, different performances were seen across categories. For…

Maintaining the trend seen in the previous two years, baby and child-specific products maintained solid retail volume growth in Romania in 2023, along with double-digit current value growth as prices rose. This category remains a priority for…

In Serbia, baby and child-specific products witnessed a steadfast allegiance among consumers in 2023, underpinned by a robust brand loyalty ethos. Rather than flitting between various brands or succumbing to the allure of cheaper alternatives,…

In 2023, healthy growth was recorded in baby and child-specific products in Slovakia. High inflationary pressures on price underpinned current value growth. Demand remains solid as parents deem these products as essential products for their…

Falling birth rates continued to hamper baby and child-specific products in Slovenia where young families are postponing having children. Women are increasingly focusing on their careers instead of having children, with the weaker economy also…

Baby and child-specific products saw current value growth in the Czech Republic in 2023. Parents have become more concerned about the health and hygiene of their newborns, which has gradually led to an increase in demand for baby and child-specific…

In 2023, the baby and child-specific products category was recording positive growth after the steep decline seen a year earlier. However, the recovery in 2023 was not as strong as in other areas of the beauty and personal care market due to a…

In 2023, baby food achieved another year of solid current value growth, although this was the result of rising unit prices as inflation remained stubbornly high. In retail volume terms, all baby food ranges, with the exception of prepared baby food,…

In 2023, most baby food subcategories continue to show positive growth, both in retail volume and current value terms. Despite the country’s declining birth rate, there is growing demand for specialised baby food among Bulgarian mothers, with mothers…

Baby food is predicted to experience an increase in current value sales in 2023. Nonetheless, a significant portion of this value growth will be influenced by price hikes due to various factors, such as the escalation of energy prices and the ongoing…

Baby food is expected to register a fall in constant value sales, but volume growth will be moderate. Consumers are expected to be highly price sensitive and prioritise value for money, with a degree of trading down as inflation still bites, though…

Baby formula is expected to register constant and current value growth, but volume growth will be minimal. Georgia’s birth rate is falling and this is expected to dampen volume sales, in particular for milk formula and in particular for standard milk…

From October 2022, the government cut national support for milk formulas from 50% to 25%. This resulted in two-three times higher prices, with standard and special milk formulas having seen a rapid price increase during 2023. Many mothers still buy…

Baby food recorded further volume decline in 2023 as the birth rate in Latvia continues to decline. Also, price increases in the category have further weakened demand in 2023, depressing volume sales. Consumers have been preparing more food at home…

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…

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,…

Poland has been witnessing a continuous decline in its population since 2012, with the number of births in 2022 reaching a post-war low. According to the Central Statistical Office (GUS), in 2022, the number of births was estimated at 305,000, which…

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…

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…

Despite lower birth rates, growth in baby food is positive, with retail volume growth rising, despite the landscape seeing double-digit inflation throughout 2022. The increase in retail volume is aided by parents being back in the office, leading to…

Baby food suffered heavy losses in 2022 as large numbers of families fled the country following Russia’s invasion. The category’s recovery in 2023 continues to be limited by the significantly smaller consumer base for these products. Besides which,…

In 2022, dried baby food was only offered in three pack types: flexible aluminium/plastic, flexible plastic and folding cartons. However, flexible aluminium/plastic was the dominant packaging format in this category, as it is easy to open, reseal and…

While flexible packaging remained the most popular packaging format for overall baby food in 2022, driven by prepared baby food, board tubs displayed an increase in pack type share within the category for several reasons. Firstly, as board tubs are…

The lifting of travel restrictions post-COVID-19 has had a positive impact on luggage, backpacks, business bags and handbags with these subcategories, particularly luggage, registering growth in both current retail value terms, albeit at a slower…

Despite the prevailing inflation in Romania, bags and luggage continued to exhibit growth. Average unit prices surged in 2022 and 2023 due to increased costs associated with energy, raw materials, and other factors. This led many Romanians to opt for…

In 2023, baked goods achieved moderate volume growth due to the strong performance of leavened bread, which is gaining popularity and shaping the development of the baked goods category. Despite rising prices, overall consumption of baked goods has…

The consumption of baked goods declined in 2023 as bread sales continue to follow the negative trend seen in the review period. Per capita growth in bread is limited due to Bulgaria’s declining population, which is falling well ahead of other…

Following steep price growth in baked goods in 2022, wheat and flour prices stabilised in 2023. This is particularly important for bread as it is heavily dependent on flour prices. Croatians are strong bread consumers, and it was expected that volume…

Sales of baked goods in Eastern Europe recorded slightly slower real value growth in 2020 than a year earlier. Although the arrival of Coronavirus (COVID-19) in the region saw consumers stockpiling certain products, this did not extend to bread in…

In 2023, frozen cakes, sweet pies and tarts demonstrated the fastest current value growth in baked goods. Demand for these types of frozen baked goods is growing alongside the faster pace of life in Estonian society, although it remains a niche at…

Baked goods is a key staple in Georgia due to the strong popularity of unpackaged leavened bread, which continues to post solid volume growth in 2023, despite rising prices. Demand for this product is supported by the fact that it is an essential…

With inflation in Hungary remaining the highest in the EU, unit prices for packaged and unpackaged leavened bread have continued to rise at double-digit rates in 2023 despite a reduction in grain prices on international commodity markets.…

In 2023, Latvia is seeing a continuing decline in overall bread consumption, a key carbohydrate source. The trend is influenced by wider health and wellness trends and exacerbated by a shrinking population, which limits the potential consumer base.…

Bread consumption continues to decline in Lithuania in 2023 due to the growing health and wellness trend and consumers reducing their carbohydrate intake. The health and wellness trend has been gathering pace in Lithuania in recent years and has even…

Baked goods achieves minimal volume growth as leavened bread, which is the most significant product range within the category, achieves modest retail volume growth in 2023. Consumer demand in retail volume terms continues to slow as a result of the…

In 2023, baked goods in Poland has witnessed significant innovations, reshaping traditional baking practices. Notable player Dan Cake Polonia introduced an array of novel hamburger buns, including a bistro variant infused with natural sourdough and a…

Bread continues to hold a central role in baked goods in Romania, acting as a traditional and indispensable component of meals. The performance of baked goods in 2023 closely mirrored the trends observed in the bread product area. Despite the…

Inflation continues to be high in 2023 and as such though baked goods is expected to register current value growth, both constant value and volume sales are expected to fall marginally. This fall in volume sales is also due to a declining population.…

In 2023, commodity prices of wheat experienced a significant decrease from the heights of 2022. However, this reduction did not translate into lower unit prices in retail stores. The main contributing factor was the persistent increase in other…