Greece

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…

The market for cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco in Greece saw a decline in volume sales in 2023, continuing the trend of the previous year. While the largest product area, fine cut tobacco, has proved to be more resilient than cigarettes,…

Retail volume sales of cigarettes in Greece posted a decline in 2023, following the sluggish performance of the previous year. This occurred within the context of rising levels of health awareness in the country, which had a negative impact on…

As the appeal of cider/perry in Greece remained limited among the domestic population, the category’s performance was fairly flat in 2023, with only a marginal drop in total volume sales. Retail volume sales dropped moderately while on-trade volume…

Oats have emerged as an increasingly popular ingredient in chocolate confectionery among Greek consumers. Violanta, a player active in both sweet biscuits and chocolate confectionery, has capitalised on this trend by diversifying its product range…

Within apparel and footwear, childrenswear was the least affected by COVID-19 and lockdowns, so the high growth recovery rates seen in apparel for adults are not as evident in childrenswear in 2023. Widespread and ongoing economic uncertainty is…

Across the review period, innovation was strong on the cheese category. Until recently, Greek law mandated the pasteurisation of milk for health reasons. However, a new legislation framework across the review period allowed cheese production from raw…

During the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020-2021, commercial charge cards experienced a significant downturn in sales. The lockdowns, decline in tourism (a key driver of the Greek economy), general reduction in business activities, and restrictions on…

There has been a growing demand for high-quality customer service when owners go shopping for their cats, with people increasingly looking for treatments and services as well as food and products for their beloved pets. Pet City, which is the leading…

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…

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…

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…

Due to the increase in price points, general inflation, and consumers' lower disposable incomes, the demand for butter has decreased. Consumers have looked to make butter last longer, to purchase cheaper varieties or simply remove the product from…

Greece’s business environment lags behind it regional peers, burdened by rigid labour market regulations, slow and inefficient judicial system, prevalent corruption, heavy taxation and weak financial system. The country boasts rather highly educated…

Breakfast cereals have witnessed strong price inflation in recent years and this trend remains prominent in 2023. Many Greeks are opting to make their own cereals instead of buying packaged cereals, guided by a plethora of easy recipes available…

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…

Given the strong increase in tourism flows, lodging, travel modes and foodservice had almost fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels by 2022, although this was not the case for intermediaries. Even though value sales in intermediaries posted a strong…

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…

Beer in Greece posted a slight decrease in total volume sales in 2023, despite the market size still not having fully recovered to the 2019 pre-Coronavirus (COVID-19) level. However, this was mostly due to the decrease in total volume sales of the…

High inflation and its subsequent impact on local consumers’ disposable income significantly impacted purchasing habits and brand developments across beauty and personal care in Greece in 2023.

In 2023, growth in the largest subcategory in beauty and personal care in Greece, body wash/shower gel, was driven by price increases and tourism. Private label registered brand share growth owing to the tightening of household budgets.

Inflation and regular price increases have significantly affected the baked goods category in 2023. Amid rising costs, bakeries suffered a significant drop in revenues, meaning price increases were essential as most players could not absorb the…

The low birth rate in Greece is a challenge for retail volume sales of baby food. While the price hikes in 2022 and 2023 meant that baby food is set to record a positive current retail value growth, parents are finding it difficult to afford. As…

Excluding hair care and baby wipes, the baby and child-specific category registered volume decline in Greece in 2023, with current value growth resulting from unit price rises. Volume decline can be attributed to falling birth rates, leading to…

In 2023, away-from-home tissue and hygiene recorded an uplift in value sales, while volume sales were challenged by rising prices. Horeca operators faced reduced profit margins in 2023; the result of price hikes in operating costs due to a rising in…

The Athens in Greece report provides comprehensive city level information benchmarked against other cities in the country and region. The report includes historic data and forecasts on city population, consumer expenditure, digital penetration,…

Following Olympia’s EUR50 million investment in Public, which left Olympia owning 98% of the Public-Media Markt venture in Greece and Cyprus, the Media Markt stores have been rebranded Public + home and specialise in white appliances. Consequently,…

Apparel and footwear specialists saw current value growth in 2023. Inflation and continued price increases have been driving more and more consumers into the second-hand market, which is gradually gaining ground in Greece. Recently, the Bulgarian…

Inflation and the cost of living crisis affected the performance of apparel and footwear in Greece in 2023, with price increases resulting in substantial current value growth across all categories. Volume sales increased, too, post-COVID-19; however,…

A post-COVID-19 return to business travel and events such as christenings and weddings benefited apparel accessories in 2023, with a notable increase in volume sales of ties. Belts, too, are benefiting from a return to office work and socialising and…

Upon the lifting of all COVID-19 related regulations, including the compulsory use of face masks, social distancing rules and compulsory self-isolation, there has been a surge in illness which has been a major contributor to sales growth for…

Overall, alcoholic drinks in Greece saw flat total volume sales in 2023, despite the impact of inflation and the cost-of-living crisis upon disposable incomes and purchasing power. Off-trade volume sales fell in a number of categories, influenced by…

Due to high airport fees at Athens International Airport “Eleftherios Venizelos” (AIA), Ryanair shut down its Athens base in October 2022. The airline withdrew two aircraft between October 29th to March 31st, leading to a reduction of scheduled…

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…

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…