Greece

Fragrance is a key area of new developments in toilet care, as players vie to catch consumers' attention. For example, third-placed overall brand Klinex (Unilever Hellas SA) launched a new series of rim blocks with essential oils, with unique…

As a result of the decline in disposable incomes, consumer spending priorities have changed and, in turn, we are seeing sluggish volume sales overall, in addition to challenges faced by certain value-added products which come with higher price tags.…

Polishes is a relatively uninteresting category, which is suffering from being a discretionary product in a time of economic pressures. Added to which, polishes has also been affected by price hikes, alongside the category not having a great deal of…

Despite laundry care remaining in a negative volume slump, value sales remain supported by the higher prices in the category, as the notable players are big global names. Indeed, Procter & Gamble Hellas SA and Unilever Hellas SA are the top two…

Home insecticides is another category which is being impacted by price hikes, driven by high costs for manufacturers and inflationary pressures. Whilst players have aimed to absorb their own costs as much as possible, especially in light of the…

Overall inflationary pressures eased in Greece in 2023, compared to the inflation spikes seen in 2022. However, despite this improving economic environment, inflation remains high on home care products. Such pressures derive from the rise in energy…

Dishwashing is booming in value growth, driven by price hikes caused by increased costs for manufacturers and inflation overall. On the other hand, volume remains stable, albeit at low growth rates. This is because many dishwashing products are…

Despite bleach remaining in a volume slump and suffering from maturity, the category is actually somewhat benefitting from consumers' reduced purchasing power. Essentially, bleach offers a cheap and effective cleaning solution, despite its negative…

Air care is a discretionary category, thus is facing the challenges of offering non-essential products in a time of economic uncertainty and inflationary pressures. That said, sales are still managing to show positive volume and value growth, albeit…

A large proportion of revenue in street stalls/kiosks in Greece is dependent on events such as festivals and football matches, deriving from operators selling food and drinks just outside of the action. With sales surpassing pre-pandemic levels by…

Most independent self-service cafeterias in Greece are located in travel and lodging locations such as ferries, highway service stations, and campsites, for example. Within this context, following the strong growth recorded in 2022 in response to…

2023 saw dramatic rises in living costs resulting from soaring inflation and price hikes for food and energy, with consumer purchasing power squeezed considerably. Greeks had to reduce their spending on foodservice and prioritise essential purchases.…

High inflation in 2023 led to declining disposable incomes, in turn slowing down domestic spending in foodservice, despite the year marking a post-pandemic return to normal. While Q1 began with improved performance in terms of sales per outlet, the…

Inflation continued to negatively impact consumer foodservice in Greece in 2023, yet to reach its peak in terms of effect. Lingering post-pandemic effects helped to curb drops in footfall despite huge declines in disposable incomes amid steep price…

2022 saw strong growth in inbound tourist flows for Greece, driven by lifted pandemic-related restrictions and the recovery of recreational travel. However, in 2023 there was a decline in inbound tourism, thanks partly to cost hikes in flights and…

While traditional cafés offering table service have been strongly impacted by declining disposable incomes leading to drops in footfall and sometimes business closures, specialist coffee shops in Greece proved to be more resilient in 2023. This is…

Since mid-2022, inflationary pressures and the decline in disposable incomes have had an impact on Cannabis product consumption in Greece. On the one hand, the cost of living crisis is taking its toll on consumer spending on Cannabis products. These…

Cylinder vacuum cleaners remained the largest category in terms of retail volume and value in 2023, regardless of the strong growth in more innovative areas. Penetration is not decreasing as many consumers are not replacing cylinder models with other…

Air fryers is a dynamic category in consumer appliances, posting the strongest growth in retail volume in 2022 while continuing to witness an increase in penetration in 2023. More players have entered the landscape, and the increase in competition…

The government scheme, Recycle, Replace Appliances, was launched in Greece in 2022, offering up to EUR500 subsidies for replacing old refrigeration appliances by upgrading to more energy-efficient models. This scheme has contributed to huge growth in…

Value growth in hair care appliances was driven by air styling brushes in 2023, a relatively new category in Greece, posting a strong increase in growth. The value increase also benefited from the entry of Dyson products, which have a retail price…

While freestanding microwaves claimed the lion's share in 2023, the share of built-in microwaves was growing faster than freestanding. Kitchen design trends favour built-in appliances, while the low penetration of built-in models creates more…

The penetration of freestanding cookers is steadily decreasing year-on-year as trends in kitchen design are unfavourable to these products. Freestanding growth derives solely from replacement purchases and small models targeted at students. The…

Although washing machines are appliances of high priority and will therefore be replaced immediately if they stop working, the replacement of functioning washing machines was postponed by consumers in 2022 and 2023. This was due to households gaining…

The prices of most products in food preparation appliances were subjected to hikes, driven by rising inflation, and an uplift in costs for transportation and manufacturing in 2022. While transport and shipping costs were beginning to normalise, price…

Dishwashers recorded a strong increase in retail volume sales during COVID-19. As consumers spent more time at home, due lockdowns and ongoing working from household, many used their dishwashers more, resulting in devices being replaced. Furthermore,…

Following the recovery from COVID-19, in 2022, consumers moved spending towards services above goods, leading to a decline in sales of consumer appliances. In addition, spending on consumer appliances was heightened during the outbreak, with home…

In 2022, the government scheme 'Recycle, Replace Appliances' was launched, offering subsidies if consumers replaced old split air conditioners and upgraded to more energy-efficient ones. This contributed to huge growth in sales of split air…

The sports drinks landscape posted an increase in retail volume during 2023, as sales continued to recover from the losses it saw during COVID-19. However, slow growth is driven by inflationary pressures and the impact on disposable incomes, given…

In 2023, all product areas posted an increase in retail value sales, due to rising inflation and price hikes. The increase in price points and decline in disposable incomes resulted in consumers adapting their purchasing behaviours, with many…

The penetration of RTD Tea sales in supermarkets remains low, and the bulk of the retail volume is derived from the impulse channel. As impulse purchases drive consumption, RTD tea is less impacted by the cut in consumer spending that is challenging…

RTD coffee has a very low penetration in Greece, largely due to strong competition from fresh coffee. The strong coffee culture in the country, and the wide availability of specialist coffee shops means that takeaway coffee prices are very…

Largely driven by the health trend, chilled Juice has been favoured over the review period, with consumers appreciating the higher nutritional value compared to ambient Juice. However, moving into 2023, ambient Juice had a better performance; the…

Energy drinks remained one of the most dynamic categories in terms of growth in 2023. Even though consumption has been steadily growing for several consecutive years, the landscape has yet to hit maturity and continues to grow. Factors that are…

There was a lack of developments and investment in the concentrates landscape in 2023, which negatively impacted performance. As a result, sales have continued to decline for another consecutive year. Concentrates is challenged by being viewed as a…

Compared to the European average, sugar free products have a very high share of Carbonates in Greece, and penetration is still growing. Sugar free is strong in Cola, while other soft drink options have strong room for growth, and both domestic and…

There is a very high penetration of private label within bottled water. As such, leading companies are focusing on their brands and forming strategic partnerships with key retailers to produce private label water. This offers opportunities for…

Tea is yet to be a mature landscape in Greece, and as such, it has been attracting investment, with new players and launches seen during the review period. However, in 2023, the cost of living crisis resulted in a slowdown in development. The decline…

Other hot drinks posted a steep retail volume decline in 2023, aligned to the cost of living crisis and lower disposable incomes. As such, consumer purchasing changed, and many focused on essentials, with other hot drinks lacking commodity status. In…

Rising inflation and the decline in disposable incomes negatively impacted hot drinks' performance in 2023. Significant increases in price across hot drinks and high inflation led consumers to be increasingly price-sensitive, with sales driven by…

The price of coffee has increased in both the off and on trade, leading more consumers to replace takeaway coffee with their home creations. While a significant part of the Greek population would have a takeaway coffee daily, the decline in…

Nuts and seed-based spreads are much loved by Greek consumers who try to follow a healthy lifestyle, as these spreads have a very high nutritional value. People include these spreads on their breakfast or as ingredients to make healthy recipes, such…

The high cost of living remains an issue for Greeks in 2023, with many consumers being forced to restrict purchases to just the bare essentials. Retail volume sales of sauces, dips and condiments category remain dampened by this trend, although there…

Players are capitalising on the particularly strong demand for healthy ready meals as these combine the desire for a nutritious meal with convenience and consumers’ now entrenched habit of consuming ready meals whilst at work. At the end of 2022, new…

Olive oil is generally the preference of Greek consumers as they consider it more nutritious and healthier than vegetable and seed oils. Following the negative impact of inflationary pressures in 2022, the Greek olive oil industry has experienced new…

Cooking ingredients and meals continues to battle with high prices in 2023, which are impacting consumer’s buying habits, although inflation is lower than in the previous year. Amid this improved economic climate, retail volume sales have made a…

A mild winter in 2023 led to only modest volume growth for product areas such as jackets and coats and jumpers. However, temperatures were unusually low in late spring, with the summer season starting later than usual. This impacted sales of summer…

The energy crisis and high inflation continues to impact staple foods in 2023. Consumers are trying to save money either by reducing the amount of products they buy or switching to more affordable options, including private label. Retailers are…

Although inflation is beginning to ease in 2023, average unit prices remain high, and local consumers have been forced to reduce spending on non-essential items, including apparel and footwear. Many consumers are trading down to cheaper brands of…

Despite the energy crisis and rising inflation, pasta is witnessing robust volume and current value growth in 2023. Pasta is a relatively cheap staple food that is used to make a variety of dishes and with the cost of living crisis still in play,…