Latin America

As consumers feel the financial strain from inflation and struggle to stretch household budgets further, sugar confectionery offers a chance to indulge in an affordable sweet, especially for the little ones. With all retailers fully reopened there…

Children who were not able to celebrate their birthday with friends in 2020 and 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, returned to full party celebrations in 2022 and 2023. Sugar confectionery is frequently purchased for children´s birthday parties…

Despite turbulent environment, sugar confectionery, viewed by Colombian consumers as more of an affordable indulgence compared to chocolate confectionery, is turning in a resilient performance in 2023. The market has experienced significant…

After being critically hit by the pandemic in 2020 and only a partial recovery in 2021, retail volume sales of sugar confectionery fully recovered in 2022 and are expected to continue growing to surpass 2019’s levels in 2023. Among the many…

Sugar confectionery saw a flat performance in retail volume terms in 2023, continuing the trend of the previous year. However, this represented a significant improvement from 2020 and 2021, when the category saw a slump in demand, due to limited…

With the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the consumption of sugar confectionery products did not migrate to home consumption with the same frequency as other snacks such as ice cream or chocolate confectionery, which negatively impacted sales.…

Sugar confectionery experienced robust volume growth in 2022, surpassing 2019 sales levels, and is expected to continue growing in 2023. Factors such as children's birthdays, the return to full-time school and workplaces post-pandemic are supporting…

Sales of sugar and sweeteners declined in retail volume terms in 2023, continuing a long-term trend that was only temporary halted in 2020 by the outbreak of COVID-19. Sugar has gained an increasingly negative image in terms of its effect on health,…

The year 2023 was marked by a unique dynamic in the sugar market in Brazil, characterised by significant changes in prices, production, and consumption of the sweetener. Throughout the 2023/24 sugarcane season, the average prices of crystal sugar…

Although the street stalls/kiosks saw healthy growth across all metrics in 2023, it is yet to reach pre-pandemic sales levels. This partly reflects lower levels of dynamism compared with other categories and consumer foodservice. Chained street…

Street stalls/kiosks in Mexico is an extremely fragmented consumer foodservice channel, due to the country’s abundance of outlets run by families, self-employed individuals, or small-scale traders. They often operate unofficially due to the high…

Street stalls/kiosks continued to be popular in 2023. While hot dogs, hamburgers and empanadas are the most ubiquitous street food offerings, they only scratch the surface of the diversity available. Along the Caribbean coast, stands specialise in…

In recent years, Chile has experienced a significant upswing in informal street food vending, particularly since the pandemic emerged. This trend directly responds to escalating unemployment rates, meagre wages in formal employment, inflationary…

Street stalls/kiosks in Brazil remained highly fragmented in 2023, marked by the diversification of offers in terms of products, and by the strong presence of small and independent players. In relation to menus, the channel includes players that…

Argentina is seeing a rising number of street stalls and kiosks offering consumer foodservice products, with hot dogs, sandwiches and pre-prepared salads being particularly prevalent. Some of these operators have incorporated seating areas for at…

The utilisation of store cards is on a notable decline, largely due to a transition where most stores have opted to partner with major operators in the market, like Visa or Mastercard. As a result, prominent department stores have ceased issuing…

Store cards demonstrated sustained growth in transaction values even during the pandemic. According to the 2018 National Financial Inclusion Survey (ENIF) conducted by the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV), 61.5% (15.1 million) of…

Store cards are expected to continue their downward trajectory in 2023 in both transaction value and the number of cards in circulation. With consumers having more alternatives to choose from pre-paid, including credit or debit cards offering…

An intriguing metamorphosis is underway in the realm of store cards across Chile. Witnessing a downward trajectory, this transformation is driven by two pivotal factors, revolutionising the market and empowering consumers. First, the consumer…

One notable historical factor contributing to the popularity of store cards in Brazil is the ease of acquisition. Typically, consumers can swiftly register for a store card in-store, a process often completed in five minutes or less. This…

In recent years, there has been a notable shift in consumer preference from store-specific cards to more versatile credit cards, allowing them to use a single card for all purchases. This shift has compelled store cards to transition into credit…

Potatoes account for most sales of starchy roots in Mexico with these being used in a broad range of dishes, with consumers perceiving them to be healthy ingredients that provide satiety. Furthermore, they are frequently consumed as a side dish. The…

In 2023, the starchy roots market, primarily represented by cassava, experienced positive growth. Supply was robust at the start of the year, with a notable increase in cassava production in various regions due to farmers' interest in…

In 2023, staple foods has registered a marginal decrease in retail volume terms as consumers reduce consumption in order to save money. High prices remain an issue for Uruguayans and this is impacting negatively on demand. Furthermore, the…

Peru has been contending with a steady escalation in prices since 2021, a situation exacerbated in 2022 and 2023, affecting a wide array of consumer goods and services. The country's significant reliance on imported products and supplies means that…

Volume sales of staple foods are expected to grow in 2023. Moderate inflation rates after a challenging 2022 will play a key role in the recovery of categories such as baked goods as well as rice, pasta and noodles. However, breakfast cereals is…

Panama’s sales of staple foods are buoyed by extensive urbanisation, the rise of modern grocery retailers and wider product selection. However, in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the resumption of pre-pandemic lifestyles, Russia’s invasion of…

Retail volume sales of staple foods in Mexico continue to rise in 2023, although performances of the categories vary, depending on the level of price increases over the year and affordability. Despite prices trending to normalise with inflation rates…

Volume sales of staple foods saw slow growth in 2023 while values rose due to inflationary pressures. The normalisation of lifestyles in the wake of the pandemic reduced the home cooking trend and lowered demand for products such as shelf stable…

Staples foods is expected to expected to register current value and volume growth, though inflation continues to hit companies’ profitability, with constant value growth expected to be more muted.

Volume sales of staple foods saw slow growth in 2023 while values rose due to inflationary pressures. The normalisation of lifestyles in the wake of the pandemic reduced the home cooking trend and lowered demand for products such as shelf stable…

While Ecuador has maintained one of the lowest inflation rates in the region, a combination of factors has led to upward price pressures in Staple Foods. The rising costs of key ingredients like wheat, oil or butter have continued in 2023, with…

The overall inflation rate in the Dominican Republic has decreased in 2023 and is projected to close at 4.9%, compared to 9.5% in 2022, marking a significant decline in price increases. However, inflation continues to impact various staple foods…

Inflation continues to impact consumer shopping habits in 2023, with consumers seeking out low prices and private label in the staple foods category, as they look to make grocery budgets stretch further. The government has implemented aggressive…

Staple foods in Colombia in 2023 is significantly influenced by food price-related issues, inflation, and the country's GDP evolution. The historically high inflation experienced in 2022 continued to be a major concern for all stakeholders in staple…

In line with the waning impact of the pandemic in Chile as the country eased its restrictions, consumers were optimistic that the economic situation would improve significantly. However, this was quickly followed by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,…

The ongoing inflationary process that has hit the Brazilian economy in the past few years started to cool in 2023, as various food categories experienced a deflationary process for many items throughout the year. The Brazilian market context can been…

Bolivia has managed to protect itself to a large extent from inflation by continuing to have a fixed exchange rate against the dollar. However, there has been challenges for the economy in 2023, with sharp falls in foreign currency reserves and this…

Within staple foods in Argentina, retail volume sales overall are seeing only marginal growth. While the prevailing economic turmoil is partially responsible for this, an array of additional factors is contributing to adverse effects on both supply…

In 2022, buoyed by post-pandemic recovery optimism, sportswear giants such as adidas and Nike significantly ramped up their import volumes. However, by 2023, the import volumes for these two brands were seeing a sharp decline, especially when…

Brand loyalty remains a prominent aspect in the Colombian sportswear industry, with consumers often expressing strong preferences for established global brands, such as Nike and adidas due to their reputation for quality and performance. However,…

Sportswear is the standout performer in Chilean apparel and footwear in terms of current value growth in 2023. While inflationary pressures have subdued demand for many apparel categories in general, sportswear’s growth remains positive due to the…

In 2023, Brazil emerged as a beacon of recovery after the tumultuous period marked by the global pandemic. The economic landscape of the country witnessed a transformative shift as it navigated the challenges of the post-pandemic era. The first year…

Import restrictions and capital controls have driven a number of international sportswear brands to withdraw from Argentina in recent years. Several of those that continue trading in the country meanwhile have attempted to mitigate the challenges…

Sports nutrition continues to be benefit from the full opening of society post pandemic lockdowns, with people being more active and attending gyms once again. As such sports nutrition is expected to register healthy constant value and volume growth…

The post-pandemic resumption of sporting activities, with consumers renewing their gymnasium and sports club memberships, has helped the recovery of sports nutrition, with sales patterns continuing to normalise following the atypical highs and lows…

As pandemic-related restrictions have gradually eased in Mexico, the number of local consumers engaging in exercise has witnessed a rapid rebound. According to the latest data from INEGI (Mexico’s National Institute of Statistics and Geography), in…

Steep unit price increases for many sports nutrition products proved to be too much for the category towards the end of the review period, leading to current value decline in 2021 and 2022. Supply chain issues related to protein availability and…

Sports nutrition products typically have very high prices, which limits the growth potential to an extent. As such, consumption is limited to consumers in medium and high income groups. In addition, some sports nutrition products sold in Ecuador can…

Despite persistent inflationary pressures affecting the country and the sports nutrition industry in particular, consumers continue to purchase these items to help them maintain their regimes of fitness regimes. The fitness boom in the country is…