Latin America

In 2023, sales of cigarettes in Colombia returned to a declining trend following a slight increase in the year prior. The downward trend is not only caused by lower smoking prevalence, but the shift towards alternatives like e-vapour products.…

In 2023, the consumption of cigars and cigarillos in Argentina experienced a slight decline in volume terms. This decline was primarily due to the import restrictions imposed by the former Alberto Fernandez government, which included a partial…

The consumption of cigars and cigarillos in Bolivia remained niche in 2023, with these products having limited distribution. They are mainly available in small tobacco speciality stores, which in recent years have also started offering e-vapours, or…

Volume sales of cigars have been growing at steady rates in Colombia since the COVID-pandemic, with further double-digit volume growth witnessed in 2023. Smoking cigars is not a cultural tradition in Colombia, with most cigars imported from Cuba and…

Sugar confectionery packaging, which recorded a decline in its unit volumes when the pandemic hit Mexico in 2020, recorded increasing sales for a third year since then in 2023, continuing its strong post-pandemic recovery. Sugar confectionery in…

Contact lenses and solutions in Argentina is expected to register a healthy increase in constant value sales, though volume sales are expected to fall Inflation continues to very high in 2024, though it eases somewhat, with new economic reform…

Contact lenses in Mexico have very low penetration among people with eyesight problems, with most people instead wearing spectacles. One of the main reasons is the lack of trained personnel at optical goods stores to carry out the fitting and…

Rigid plastic is the main packaging format used for dairy products in Mexico, accounting for more than half of the unit volumes used in this category. Rigid plastic has also been gaining unit volume share in recent years, including 2023. Rigid…

Though eyewear In Argentina is expected to register significant current value growth, constant value sales are expected to fall significantly. Argentina continues to have one of the highest inflation rates in the world, though it has eased somewhat…

Mexico continued to see elevated inflation inn 2023, albeit the country still recorded steady GDP growth. Projections for 2024 suggest lower inflation of around 4%, with GDP growth of between 2-3%. With slower economic growth predicted for 2024, this…

Gardening saw significant current value growth in Mexico in 2023. Consumer interest in gardening remained robust during the year, with virtually all gardening categories reporting value growth, driven, in part, by inflation. While growth was more…

A growing economy and favourable macroeconomic factors, such as low unemployment and a growing housing market, drove value sales growth in Mexico’s home and garden market in 2023. While growth was marginal in home furnishings, it was more robust in…

Mexico’s home furnishings market witnessed marginal current value growth in 2023, fuelled by high inflation as well as resilient consumer demand in the category. In spite of significant inflationary pressures, the economic growth witnessed by the…

Mexico’s home improvement market saw substantial current value growth in 2023 as consumers retained an interest in undertaking home renovation tasks. The growing housing and construction markets as well as record low unemployment and real wage growth…

The Mexican homewares market continued to see current value growth in 2023, driven by two primary factors. Firstly, as work-from-home and hybrid work models persisted in the year, consumers maintained an interest in home cooking and refreshed their…

The pandemic in Mexico has resulted in a sustained interest in home cooking, which has lasted even after COVID-19-related restrictions were removed. With the resumption of busy lives, time-strapped consumers looking to make meals at home were opting…

Plant-based dairy in Mexico is mainly represented by plant-based milk products such as oat milk or coconut milk. Demand for alternatives to cow’s milk is being driven by two major trends – health concerns and environmental awareness. Plant-based milk…

After the very strong growth spike as a result of home seclusion and the ideal nature of these products for stockpiling at home when the pandemic hit in 2020, packaging unit volume sales were stagnating in 2021. However, processed fruit and…

Packaging unit volume sales in processed meat and seafood in Mexico recorded healthy growth in 2023, following two years of more modest performances. After demand spiked in 2020 due to the pandemic, with consumers stocking up on products with long…

Pickled products are the biggest source of demand for packaging unit volumes in sauces, dips and condiments in Mexico. Pickled products also continued to record healthy growth in their packaging unit volumes in 2023. Metal food cans are the dominant…

In 2023, e-vapour products in Bolivia experienced considerable growth and formalisation in the distribution channels for e-vapour products. The availability of these products surged in both modern and traditional retail outlets. Initially, e-vapour…

Over the review period, smokeless tobacco, e-vapour products and heated tobacco grew at high velocity, with value sales over 20 times higher in 2023 compared to the start of the review period. Outstanding sales of e-vapour products, namely closed…

Spectacles is the only eyewear product in Argentina that is expected to see volume sales increase in 2024. The essentialness of spectacles supports volume sales. That being said, continuing high inflation is expected to result in a significant fall…

Economic pressures have continued to impact demand for spectacles in 2024 with many Mexican families seeking to prioritise essentials while searching for more affordable eyewear solutions. Subsequently, brands and retailers are placing a greater…

Sunglasses in Argentina is expected to register both a steep fall in volume and constant value sales, as inflation continues to be very high in 2024. As such, consumers trade down and also prioritise essential eyewear products such as spectacles. One…

Concerns around eye health in the post-pandemic era has increased, and hand in hand with this concern, there is a growing awareness of the effects of the sun’s UV rays on visual health. In response, demand for sunglasses saw significant growth in…

After the demand spike seen in sweet spreads and its associated packaging in 2020 due to home seclusion during the pandemic, as it gave rise to increasing snacking and meal occasions in the home, sales declined in 2021 as the category normalised.…

The Argentine economy faced significant challenges in 2023, entering a recession with a GDP contraction and a notable decline in December compared to December 2022. Inflation surged, severely impacting the tobacco industry. Although official…

In 2023, tobacco in Bolivia recorded one of its most challenging periods in recent times, primarily due to a notable growth in the availability of illegal cigarette brands. Until a few years ago, Bolivia was primarily a transit country for the…

Tobacco in Colombia witnessed stagnant volume growth in 2023 amid inflationary pressures and falling demand for cigarettes. Smoking prevalence continued to decline with consumers increasing awareness about the harmful effects of combustion tobacco…

In 2023, cigarettes in Bolivia witnessed a notable surge in the presence of smuggled brands. These products, previously predominant in provinces and rural areas, made significant inroads into urban markets, particularly in kiosks, popular markets,…

Cigarettes saw volume sales fall significantly in Ecuador in 2023. The illicit market continued to deepen its penetration within the Ecuadorian market during the year. The high tax levied on the legal industry has caused a substantial price gap…

Retail volume sales of cigars and cigarillos rose strongly in Ecuador in 2023, Cigars and cigarillos is a very niche category in Ecuador. In general terms, the Ecuadorian population is not accustomed to consuming this type of product. For this…

E-vapour products saw a marked rise in retail value sales in Ecuador in 2023. E-vapour products was a category that was subject to very low levels of control by the authorities during the review period. However, as it has gained space within the…

The tobacco market saw modest volume growth in Ecuador in 2023. Ecuador has gone through a series of problems in recent years, including the strong impact of the COVID-19 crisis, followed by an economic and social crisis that led to a national strike…

During 2023 inflation led to a trading down to mid and low priced brands. The market was also hindered by economic insecurity, high levels of poverty, crime and an increase in illicit trade, while widespread anti-smoking campaigns and tough…

Faced with legislative pressure to raise prices and with the growth of the illicit market in Mexico, category leaders such as British American Tobacco opted to expand their portfolios through the addition of lower-priced products to their brand…

In January 2023 a display ban on tobacco products and the expansion of smoke-free spaces came into force with this having a significant an impact on sales of cigars, cigarillos, and smoking tobacco in Mexico. The law includes all tobacco-derived…

Heated tobacco products are still relatively new to the market with Philip Morris behind the arrival and expansion of the category in Mexico. Heated tobacco products are attracting interest due to the reduced harm claims compared to conventional…

Tobacco in Mexico was defined by a series of moves within the legislative framework that have forced manufacturers, retailers and consumers to react. At the beginning of 2023, faced with a government-led ban on the display of cigarettes at points of…

Volume sales of cigarettes continued to decline in 2023. Government anti-tobacco initiatives, a decrease in smoking prevalence and growth in illicit trade challenged legal sales. Despite inflation-induced price sensitivity, premium brands remained…

Paraguay’s consumption of tobacco declined once again in 2023 as smoking prevalence continued to fall. The increased awareness of the harmful effects of smoking on health, anti-tobacco policies, such as bans on advertising, the inclusion of health…

Despite a significant reduction in domestic inflation, average unit prices for cigarettes in Costa Rica continued to rise in 2023. Indeed, official sources indicate the consumer price index (CPI) for these products increased at a faster rate than in…

The cigarette market in the Dominican Republic continued to decline in 2023 in volume terms due to rising health awareness, resulting in more smokers quitting and fewer new cigarette consumers. Sales have also been impacted by the shift to e-vapour…

Cigarettes in Peru continued to suffer from persistent illegal trade in 2023. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the advance of the illicit market - essentially composed of smuggling – has been relentless, with illicit trade in 2023…

In 2023, the retail volume sales of cigarettes posted an eighth annual consecutive decline. There were several driving forces behind this negative industry trend. On one hand, this was caused by a decline in smoking prevalence and a lower number of…

Cigars in Costa Rica recorded another solid performance in retail volume growth terms in 2023. Together with a rapid reduction in domestic inflation, which bolstered purchasing power among the population, the category’s strong showing reflected a…

Cigar sales grew significantly in the Dominican Republic 2023, continuing their excellent performance of the past two years. Growth is attributable to rising demand for good quality tobacco, and cigars being a symbol of a high social status. This…

Cigars, cigarillos and smoking tobacco overall saw double-digit dips in both volume and current value sales terms in 2023. Cigars and fine cut tobacco suffered reduced consumption as a result of economic stress, which also led to low levels of…

The volume sales of cigars and cigarillos continued to grow in 2023. However, the category’s performance could have been even better if the price gap with Argentina had not been as large. The latter forced people to buy these products at the other…