North America

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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 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…

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…

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…

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.…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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,…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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,…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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 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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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,…

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…

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…

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…

Consumer demand has clearly shifted away from manufactured consumer goods towards experiences and services in Canada. Due to this, experiential luxury is set to see current value growth of 13% to total CAD1.5 billion in 2023. Sales have been boosted…

Despite consumers’ overall spending power being affected by numerous domestic and global issues, including rising inflation, uncertainties due to the war in Ukraine, and overall increased living costs, the US has seen a return of tourists in 2023.…

Eye care is projected to post positive retail value (constant 2023 prices) growth in 2023. While moderate, growth is expected to be higher than in the previous years of the review period, partly due to strong unit price increases. Meanwhile, in…

In 2023, standard eye care is set to outperform allergy eye care, due to the year-round use of such products, as well as consumers’ growing concern about issues such as dry eye and digital eye strain. Although price increases from eye care players…

Eyewear in Canada is witnessing a resurgence across all categories in 2024, following a year of mixed performance in 2023. While 2023 saw robust growth in contact lenses and spectacles, driven partly by pandemic-induced factors as consumers caught up…

Following a surge in sales across contact lenses, spectacles, and sunglasses in previous years, eyewear in the US is set to experience slower, but positive, current value growth in 2024. With consumers embracing the “new normal” of the higher cost of…

In the wake of Covid-19 there was a notable shift away from cash transactions, while in 2023 (as in 2022) the retail value of personal cash transactions is rising rapidly. However, the surge has been fuelled by the inflation surges of 2022 and 2023.…

The biggest news of 2023 has been administrative, with the Federal Reserve fighting inflation and the threat of recession. With inflation well above recent norms in 2022, the Fed spent roughly 18 months in a constant dance of deciding whether to…

Fine wines/Champagne and spirits is set to grow by 9% in current value terms to reach CAD3.0 billion in 2023 with sales boosted by a strong consumer appetite for experiences and enjoyment after the pandemic. Socialising over a drink with friends…

Value sales of fine wines/champagne and spirits grew by 4% to total USD13.4 billion in 2023, boosted by consumers’ appetite for experiences and enjoyment after the pandemic. Enjoying a drink with a meal at home or when relaxing remains a key pastime…

Despite deflationary trends across fish and seafood, volumes continues to decline in 2023, particularly in retail. This follows a difficult 2022, when some types of fish and seafood experienced double-digit declines in retail volume terms. As…