North America

The energy drinks category is highly competitive, but Celsius has been successful in capturing share. Unlike other leading brands, which were focused on revenue management, Celsius’s focus on reduced sugar products is expected to allow it to continue…

Energy drinks received a setback in the summer of 2023 when the Canadian government recalled more than 20 popular brands, including Monster, Prime, Celsius and Sting, during the peak season for energy drink consumption. The brands were recalled…

Avian influenza outbreaks throughout 2022 contributed to rising input costs across the supply chain, resulting in strong double-digit unit price increases for eggs. Between infection-related deaths and intentional culling of flocks to limit further…

The woes of edible oils in 2022 have continued to play out in 2023, as unit price rises have easily outpaced the inflationary growth of packaged food prices at-large. Many of the edible oils available in the US originate from other regions globally,…

Edible oils are currently experiencing one of the most significant price increases within the food group. The surging prices have raised concerns among consumers, prompting some to reduce their consumption. These price hikes, combined with growing…

In a cross-category trend, we are seeing unit price hikes supporting value sales in drinking milk products, while volume remains in a slump due to the same inflationary pressures. For most of the food industry, 2022 was a year of declining volumes…

Following a brief surge during the pandemic years, drinking milk products have resumed their downward trajectory, persisting throughout 2023. The consumption of drinking milk continues to decline, primarily due to increased mobility. Furthermore, the…

Dog food is set to maintain slow and stable retail volume growth and more dynamic current value growth in the US in 2024. Despite strong unit price growth across 2022 and 2023, which has continued, although at a slower rate, in 2024, volume…

Dog food in Canada, as in many developed markets, is informed by strong pet humanisation trends. With more and more owners treating their dogs as members of the family, rather than as domestic animals, the category is seeing a widening range of food…

In 2023, retail volume sales of dishwashing in the US continued to decline, despite hybrid working arrangements contributing to elevated dishwasher usage compared to pre-pandemic levels. Weakened dishwasher sales were also evident, attributed in part…

Dishwashing experienced strong retail value growth in 2023, driven primarily by price increases, with retail volume sales challenged. However, value growth was also supported by Canadians continuing to cook most of their own meals, with rising prices…

In dishwashers, quiet operation and efficient performance remain top priorities, resonating with consumers’ demand for seamless kitchen experiences. While these core features continue to drive innovation, leading brands have also invested in…

Dishwashers in Canada witnessed a sustained decline in sales throughout 2023, attributed to multiple factors contributing to a slight decrease in volume sales. During the pandemic, there was a significant surge in dishwasher sales as consumers…

Sales growth slowed for discounters in the US in current value terms in 2023, reflecting a general trend in the grocery retailers space, as inflation led consumers to volume buys and cheaper meal planning. Nonetheless, discounters recorded one of the…

In 2023, discounters in Canada came under increasing pressure from government. The relationship between the federal government and grocery retailers has been marked by increased engagement and pressure from the former to address the issue of rising…

Direct selling continued its declining trend in both value terms at constant 2023 prices and in current value terms for the second year running in the US in 2023. The impressive growth posted by direct selling in 2020 has not been sustained. As a…

Direct selling continued to face the challenge of digitalisation in Canada in 2023. Towards the end of the review period, many direct selling companies leveraged online platforms and tools to showcase their products and services to customers, who…

Natural digestive remedies and DTC supplement brands have witnessed an incredible online revolution in recent years, due to increased TikTok education on homeopathic treatments and awareness of holistic gut supplements. There has been growing…

Canadian consumers have resumed pre-pandemic lifestyles, with COVID-19 restrictions lifted fully in mid-2022. The return to hectic, out-of-home lifestyles fosters unhealthy diets and irregular eating habits and increases sales for digestive remedies,…

Following the initial high growth phase of the pandemic in 2020, and subsequent slowdown in growth in 2021 as panic-buying receded, dietary supplements has re-entered a period of consistency, and is set to continue to grow at a moderate pace in…

Having witnessed spikes in retail volume sales due to heightened awareness of the importance of health with the onset of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, dietary supplements continues to stabilise in 2023. Probiotics supplements are set to…

2022 brought closure to many of the lasting pandemic-driven behaviours impacting dermatologicals, such as mask-wearing, an extreme focus on sanitisation, and remaining social distancing practices in large settings. Yet, the year also presented new…

Dermatologicals is projected to continue to see positive, if slow, retail value (constant 2023 prices) growth in 2023. However, after posting robust retail volume gains in 2021 and 2022, most categories are projected to see declines in retail volume…

In 2023, depilatories recorded steady single-digit growth in the US in current value terms, as prices comparatively stabilised after inflated adjustments in 2022. Value growth was led by women’s pre-shave and women’s razors and blades, while decline…

Depilatories witnessed gains in value growth in 2023, primarily fuelled by price increases as consumers shifted towards self-care and at-home treatments in lieu of spa and salon visits. This trend was spurred by increases in the cost of living,…

Deodorants continued to see double-digit current value growth in the US in 2023. Strong performances were led by deodorant sticks, followed by deodorant sprays, deodorant roll-ons, and deodorant creams. Deodorant pumps was the only format within…

Deodorants experienced robust growth in 2023, primarily propelled by inflationary price increases, contributing to the expansion of retail value. Despite this, volumes decreased across categories as demand normalised following the economic reopening…

Fraud has hit debit cards hard in the US in recent years. Significant increases in card not present fraud have been recorded in the market in 2023, and are a legitimate concern for those in the financial industry. A significant threat to card usage…

Canada's labour force shortage has placed mounting pressure on smaller businesses. Traditional checkouts are giving way to efficiency as s retailers scramble to optimise checkout speeds, and there is a growing trend of merchants leaning into…

There were two major developments in 2022 that will continue to impact dairy in 2023. The first is unit price increases and consumers’ reaction to it. Since 2021, inflation has been persistent in the US, alongside monthly increases in consumer goods.…

The Canadian landscape has been marked by its highest levels of inflation in recent years. Particularly notable are the food price increases that reached unprecedented heights in 2022, and this trend has carried over into 2023. These fluctuations…

In 2023, yoghurt remained the largest dairy category in the US in terms of packaging unit volume sales. Prominent players in yoghurt, such as Chobani, are turning to packaging to sustain consumer interest and set themselves apart from the…

In 2023, the pack type share of HDPE bottles continued to increase for goat milk packaging. HDPE is a food-safe plastic that does not leach harmful chemicals into the products it holds. This helps maintain the freshness and quality of dairy products…

Credit cards in the US is set to continue to see robust growth by all measures in 2023. While inflation in the country has generally been at lower levels than in the extreme outlier year of 2022, prices have still grown considerably, and some US…

In the latter half of 2022, Canada opened its doors, discarding travel restrictions and welcoming a surge of new students and workers from overseas. Canada's financial institutions greeted these newcomers with a generous $2,000 credit card limit, and…

In 2023, cough, cold and allergy (hay fever) remedies is set to see dynamic current growth, on top of an extremely strong performance in 2022. Within the category, after medicated confectionery, growth is set to be driven by and paediatric cough/cold…

Cough and cold remedies/products are expected to enjoy demand in 2023. However, the shortages of cough and cold medicines, which provided a consistent disruption in 2022, lingered in 2023. Against this background, manufacturers have struggled to keep…

The inflationary volatility of 2022 has continued into 2023, extending the impact on cooking ingredients and meals. Unit prices have climbed across categories in 2023, with edible oils seeing some of the largest jumps due to geopolitical strife and…

In 2023, the Canadian cooking ingredients and meals market is influenced by several key factors that are shaping the industry landscape. Firstly, food inflation has had a significant impact on the market, and Canada has been experiencing some of the…

As it did for many industries, the pandemic distorted the growth curve for convenience retailers. Following historically high current value growth rates in 2021 and 2022, sales slowed for convenience retailers (which encompasses convenience stores…

Convenience retailers in Canada faced a challenging environment in 2023. The COVID-19 crisis and subsequent high rates of inflation have made consumers more conscious of their spending and more likely to shop around for the best deals. In this…

Contact lenses and solutions in the US is set to maintain solid current value growth in 2024. Daily disposable lenses (DD) showed the most dynamic growth, with conventional lenses, frequent replacement lenses (FRP), and the related contact lens…

In 2024, there has been continued value growth in contact lenses and solutions sales in Canada, primarily driven by the steady return of consumers to workplaces and out-of-home activities following the rollback of COVID-19 safety measures by Canadian…

The primary challenges facing consumer lending in 2023 have been a continuation of 2022’s twin factors of higher inflation and increasing interest rates. While the story in 2022 was one of largely unchecked inflation affecting much of the US economy,…

Canada's credit landscape in 2023 is showing rises in lending, with more Canadians gaining access to lending products via traditional financial institutions and private lenders. At the same time, as the cost of living bears down on Canadians, thanks…

While 2022 was characterised by high inflation, persisting supply chain constraints, and the ongoing war in Ukraine, which brought price increases and volume declines across much of consumer health, it benefited from waning COVID-19 cases and the…

In 2023, still relatively high inflation continues to impact prices of essentials, such as groceries, as well as consumer health products, including OTC remedies, vitamins and dietary supplements and sports nutrition. However, consumer demand remains…

After three years of having at least a period of time in the year when COVID-19-related restrictions affected restaurant visits, many operators looked forward to 2023 as the first year of a return to normalcy. High inflation and its reverberating…

The foodservice industry continued to show strong sales growth in 2023. However, much of this growth was driven by inflation, with operators, labour, rent and food costs having significantly increased. As such, the main driver of value sales in 2023…

The sale of food through drive-through has continued to grow, and in 2023 remained elevated above the pre-pandemic level. The growth of drive-through ordering was fuelled by the desire to avoid human interaction during the pandemic, but has stuck as…