Saudi Arabia

Already starting to emerge as a trend in Saudi Arabia earlier in the review period, the pandemic heightened local consumers’ awareness of their health and wellbeing and encouraged them to review their dietary and nutritional requirements. Although…

After recording a decline in 2021, retail unit volumes of processed fruit and vegetables packaging returned to growth in 2022. The previous year’s decline was largely due to the normalisation in demand following a huge boom in 2020, when consumers…

In 2022, retail unit volume sales of processed meat and seafood packaging in Saudi Arabia notably increased compared to the previous year’s flat performance, as local consumers resumed their regular, out-of-home lifestyles after the pandemic and…

After the effects of the pandemic and subsequent restrictions started to ease in Saudi Arabia in 2021, retail unit volume sales of sauces, dips and condiments and associated packaging suffered as consumers spent less time cooking at home. However, in…

Glass jars remained the dominant pack type in sweet spreads packaging in 2022. Glass provides excellent protection from the effects of the outside environment, including sunlight, ensuring the product remains unaffected and prolonging its shelf life.…

The health and wellness industry continues to grow in importance post-pandemic as consumers become more aware of the negative health impact of processed foods, seeking healthier foods and beverages from a range of claims such as natural, organic,…

Consumers today have a greater understanding of the significance of diet and nutrition to their overall health and wellbeing. Increasing knowledge of the dangers to health of obesity and related problems, such as heart disease, has led consumers to…

In Saudi Arabia, there is increasing awareness of the importance of healthy eating as a means of improving the immune system, and organic products are favoured, as they are seen as more natural. According to Euromonitor International’s Voice of the…

Coffee is a traditional drink in Saudi Arabia, with a rich history and rich flavour. The original drink is a fusion of coffee beans, ginger, cardamom, saffron, and cloves. Saudi Arabian residents value such traditional coffee, and are well-aware of…

The offer of and demand for healthier snacks continued to grow significantly during 2022, in line with rising health consciousness amongst consumers. The COVID-19 pandemic raised consumers’ awareness of the importance of healthy lifestyles, including…

The Saudi government aims to promote physical and social wellbeing and a healthy lifestyle through its Quality of Life programme, which is one of its Vision 2030 initiatives. It pays great attention to sports, as partaking in sports activities has…

The purchasing decisions of consumers are increasingly influenced by health concerns. Rising awareness of health was particularly accelerated by measures from the government in the form of its Healthy Food Strategy to ensure the health of the nation…

Bread remains a key area of staple foods in Saudi Arabia with it being the largest category in both retail volume and current value terms. Bread accompanies many meals and therefore sales are not generally significantly impacted by factors such as…

Breakfast cereals is witnessing healthy growth in 2023 and this is mainly due to the normalisation of life in the Kingdom and the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions. The re-opening of schools and consumers returning to the workplace has had a…

Saudi Arabia mainly imports its potatoes from Belgium, the Netherlands, and Egypt. However, during the second half of 2022 there were difficulties in importing potatoes from these countries as they experienced poor harvests due to unfavourable…

Processed meat, seafood and alternatives to meat is witnessing healthy growth in current value and retail volume terms in 2023, continuing the pattern seen in 2022. This positive performance is mainly due to life getting back to normal with consumers…

Noodles is the smallest category within rice, pasta and noodles in retail volume terms, but it is seeing healthy growth in Saudi Arabia in 2023. These products have found appeal among busy consumers looking for a quick snack or meal option.…

Sales of stale foods have continued to see healthy growth in retail volume and value terms in 2023, with sales benefiting from a booming economy. The market saw several challenges in 2022 from Russia's invasion of Ukraine and global inflation which…

Other personal lending continues to be an area of interest in Saudi Arabia, as this category primarily constitutes personal loans taken for medical purposes and travelling. This has been particularly prominent since the end of pandemic restrictions…

Consumer lending in Saudi Arabia is on the upturn, as the Kingdom has generally recovered from the aftereffects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreso, due to consumer behaviour and expenditures unwaveringly affected by the pandemic, along with 15% VAT,…

Cooking ingredients and meals witnessed positive growth in volume terms in 2023, thanks to a trend of easing inflation (particularly during the second half of the year) and an increase in the rate of employment, which together had a positive impact…

Players in edible oils continued to face a number of ongoing challenges towards the end of the review period, not least logistical issues created by the ongoing conflict in Ukraine. The country is the world’s largest exporter of sunflower oil, and…

Meals and soups witnessed positive growth in volume terms in 2023, thanks to the normalisation of consumer lifestyles post-pandemic, including the reopening of schools and the return of consumers to their physical workplaces. The number of women in…

Following a two-year period of decline, sauces, dips and condiments returned to positive growth in retail volume terms in 2023. In 2021 and 2022, demand was negatively impacted by disruptions to the global supply chain, which pushed up production…

The market for sweet spreads continued to see positive growth in volume terms in 2023, albeit at a slower pace than the previous year. This was mainly due to the stabilisation of sales via the foodservice channel, following a boom in the aftermath of…

Charge cards follow a typical pattern in Saudi Arabia, where such cards have a set consumer base consisting of, mainly, affluent Saudi citizens who use these cards while travelling. Therefore, the rebound of travel and tourism following the pandemic…

Credit cards are not as popular as debit cards in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, however, the category still shows a fair performance. One main issue which credit cards face in the KSA is a question mark around their compliance with Sharia Law.…

Debit cards continue to make up a large portion of all financial cards in Saudi Arabia. Indeed, debit cards are even more prevalent than credit cards in the KSA, owing to a number of factors, such as wide acceptance and convenience of use, as well as…

Saudi Arabia has taken significant steps to transform itself into a cashless society – starting even before the event of the COVID-19 pandemic, which triggered digital evolution in industries globally. In this regard, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia…

Pre-paid cards are benefitting from the Kingdom’s move towards a cashless society – especially so in certain areas. For example, as seen with the uptake of pre-paid cards for the payment of workers’ salaries, notably so for domestic workers. In this…

Apparel accessories remains in both value and volume slumps in 2023, albeit improving upon the sharper drops seen in 2022. We can attribute this to a normalisation effect following the atypical patterns seen during the era of the pandemic. Notably,…

Apparel and footwear is seeing both value and volume growth in Saudi Arabia in 2023, thanks to a variety of initiatives under the Saudi Vision 2030 programme. Within this, there are specific government initiatives supporting the apparel and footwear…

Childrenswear sees overall support from the baseline fact that children need an ongoing supply of clothing as they grow out of their clothes within relatively short periods of time. As such, childrenswear has shorter lifecycles than apparel for women…

Trends seen in sportswear are also influencing footwear, as the sports-inspired and athleisure trends continue. Sporting activities are a large part of the Saudi Vision 2030, and we are seeing this influence trends in sportswear and sports-inspired…

Non-sheer hosiery continues to perform better than sheer hosiery in Saudi Arabia, supported by the rising athleisure and sporting trends, which support sports socks. On the other hand, the hot climate in the Kingdom, which has extreme summers, plays…

Jeans is a stable category in apparel, being an eternally-fashionable form of apparel which can be dressed up and dressed down accordingly. That said, jeans does face some competition from the rising athleisure trend, although jeans can also be…

Menswear in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is inspired by both local, traditional garments, and global fashion trends. Traditional wear for men typically consists of long flowing gowns and thobes, with the latter being a long-sleeved, ankle-length,…

Sporting activities are a large part of the Saudi Vision 2030, and we are seeing this influence trends in sportswear and sports-inspired apparel and footwear, particularly so in menswear and increasingly so in childrenswear and womenswear. Notably,…

Women’s empowerment in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, in line with the goals of the Saudi Vision 2030, helps to support growth in womenswear. The government continues to support female empowerment and strive for equality between men and women, through…

Bottled water remains by far the largest category of soft drinks in Saudi Arabia with increasing numbers of consumers switching to bottled water. Although tap water in the Kingdom is said to be safe to drink many people prefer to use bottled water,…

The hot weather in Saudi Arabia continues to support sales of carbonates, with sales also benefiting from the large number of consumers aged under 30, who are a key target audience for these products. Despite this, consumers in Saudi Arabia continue…

Saudi Coffee Co was established by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) in 2022 with the aim of developing the Kingdom’s national coffee industry and increasing its coffee production from 300 to 2,500 tons annually by 2028. In 2023 the…

Vimto (from Aujan Industries Co Ltd) continues to lead liquid concentrates and concentrates overall in Saudi Arabia. The brand saw the launch of Vimto Cordial Zero in 2022, which is sugar-free and contains zero calories, alongside containing no…

Sales of energy drinks continue to decline in off-trade volume terms. Energy drinks incur a 100% “sin tax” in Saudi Arabia, while there are also other initiatives and restrictions aimed at discouraging the consumption of such products with the…

Coffee and tea benefit from being popular drinks in the Kingdom, with these being beverages which are offered as part of traditional hospitality and generosity. Growth is also being boosted by a number of government initiatives, from festivals to…

Saudi Arabia’s hot climate ensures there remains a healthy demand for juice in the Kingdom. However, the performances of the different juice categories have been varied in 2023 with demand increasingly being shaped by the growing focus on healthy…

While sales of tea and coffee continue to blossom the same cannot be said for other hot drinks which has posted a steep decline in retail volume terms in 2023. Sales have been in decline since the government introduced a sugar tax of 50% in 2019. In…

Sales of RTD coffee rose sharply from a low base over the review period with locals becoming increasingly aware of these products and sales have continued to see dynamic growth in 2023 in off- and on-trade volume terms. Starbucks Iced Coffee has…

RTD tea is a relatively niche category in Saudi Arabia with it being the smallest soft drinks category in retail volume terms in 2023. Nonetheless, the category has continued to post strong growth both through the off- and on-trade channels. The…

Sales of soft drinks have continued to see healthy growth in retail volume and value terms in 2023, with sales benefiting from a booming economy. Furthermore, the country’s hot climate means there is a constant demand for soft drinks. Saudi Arabia…