Eastern Europe

In August 2023, the World Apple and Pear Association (WAPA) published its production forecast estimating that the apple harvest in Europe in 2023 will be 3% lower than the previous year. Meanwhile, Poland, which is considered Europe's largest apple…

Juice achieved stable off-trade volume growth in 2023 with sales supported by the continued consumer demand for the largest product categories, especially nectars and juice drinks. In addition, the continued shift from carbonates to juice is having a…

Juice sales continue to decline in Lithuania, due to such products losing their perceived “healthy” image due to high sugar content, along with high prices placing downwards pressure on demand. Traditionally, juice had been perceived as a “healthier”…

Off-trade volume sales declined in 2023, challenged by rising price points and the growing health awareness in the country. While many consider juice a healthy product, a rising number of consumers are avoiding juice to reduce their sugar intake.…

Juice in Hungary faced significant challenges in 2023 due to high inflation rates and rising prices. Across all juice categories, except for coconut and other plant waters, sales volume experienced a substantial decline. This decline can be…

Juice is expected to register double-digit retail volume growth and even higher volume growth through foodservice channels. Foodservice in particular is buoyed by an increasing number of tourists, as well an influx of immigrants from Ukraine, Russia…

Juice is increasingly seen as an unhealthy, sugary drink by consumers in Estonia. During the review period the category was impacted negatively as more and more consumers became aware of the high sugar content in packaged juice products. This trend…

Stanic, with its To and Juicy brands, continues to lead current value and retail volume sales of juice in 2023, with consumers seeing the brands as good price/quality combinations. Second-leading player Vindija also maintains a double-digit value…

100% juice is posting stable growth in Bulgaria in 2023, maintaining popularity due to its perceived freshness, nutritional value and alignment with health and wellness trends. Despite this, its growth potential is somewhat hampered by ongoing…

Juice is expected to register moderate volume growth in 2023. Many consumers are switching from carbonates to juices, as they consider juice to be healthier. In addition, within juice, consumers are opting for healthier, more natural versions as much…

Amid challenging economic conditions, local consumers have shown a rising interest in investing in fine jewellery, particularly gold. Fine jewellery has also gained popularity as a high-value gift item. In addition, the lifting of pandemic…

The affordability of lab-grown diamonds is a significant factor in their growing popularity in Poland. With prices up to 85% lower than natural diamonds of identical carat weight and grade, lab-grown diamonds present a cost-effective alternative for…

There is a significant level of maturity in jeans in the Czech Republic, with most people owning more than one pair, often a pair for leisure and a smarter pair for socialising or even at work. Premium and super premium brands have been challenged…

In 2023, jeans maintained a significant growth rate in both value and volume terms. With the COVID-19 restrictions left behind, Romanians are going out more than before and want to dress appropriately. Nevertheless, cocooning remains an important…

Circular fashion, a sustainable approach encompassing recycling, upcycling, and extending the lifespan of jeans through repair and resale, stands at the forefront of the fashion industry's movement towards reducing waste and environmental impact.…

The high inflation that was seen in Hungary during 2022 and 2023 had a major impact on demand for jeans. The most notable trend in the category during the year was the surge seen in demand for economy men's jeans, while in women’s jeans, the…

This report provides valuable insights into product innovation in Poland, analysing data from Euromonitor’s Innovation platform. The report covers the food and beverage categories, showing the level of new brand and subbrand launch activity.

This report provides valuable insights into product innovation in Poland, analysing data from Euromonitor’s Innovation platform. The report covers the beauty, health and home categories, showing the level of new brand and subbrand launch activity.

In recognition of its long-term decline, in-car entertainment manufacturers are limiting their investments and fewer launches are occurring. The lingering economic uncertainty following the pandemic, compounded by global inflation and the war in…

In 2022, the Romanian car market increased by 7% in volume terms, but this was mostly due to purchases of new vehicles, with sales of second-hand cars falling by 20%. This had a negative effect on the performance of in-car entertainment, which…

Further decline in both the new and second-hand cars market has impacted demand for in-car entertainment products in Poland in 2023. A shortage of essential parts and components affected sales of new cars in the year, resulting in strong demand for…

In-car entertainment recorded further decline in 2023, negatively impacted by fewer sales of new cars due to a shortage of key parts and components needed for their manufacture, which also drove up prices in the year. Consumers had to wait a long…

Volume sales of digital cameras continues to fall in 2023, as competition from smartphones devastates this category. Smartphones have been a threat to this category for years, as their devices offer high-quality images and recording with increased…

Imaging devices has continued to record a steep decline in retail volume terms in 2023. Romanians increasingly regard these products as redundant in the era of high-performance smartphones. Furthermore, high inflation and economic pressures have led…

Imaging devices continued to record declining volume sales in 2023, predominantly due to a strong fall in sales of digital cameras, which are more frequently being replaced by alternative devices. The rise of smartphones with advanced camera…

Volume sales of imaging devices again fell by a fifth in 2023 and value sales also registered decline. Continuing advances in smartphones’ cameras are leading to continual decline in imaging devices, to the extent that some smartphones can meet the…

Ice cream in Ukraine is seeing increased availability of imported products in 2024, under popular confectionery brands. For example, KitKat, Toblerone, Oreo, and Milka, as well as Snickers, Bounty, Twix and Mars, among others. Despite their high…

Ice cream looks set to be one of the most dynamic categories within snacks in 2024 due to multiple trends colliding. One of them has been changes in the social lives of young people who are increasingly switching to socialising during the day rather…

Ice cream is expected to register healthy constant value growth and more modest volume growth in 2023. Continuing economic uncertainty as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the meteoric rise in inflation and tightening monetary policy is…

Ice cream is achieving positive volume sales in Slovakia in 2024, with stronger value sales being supported by another round of unit price hikes. However, the deterrent of the high prices is being balanced out by warm weather and out-of-home…

Ice cream saw positive growth in volume terms in 2023, continuing the trend of the previous year. Overall, foodservice sales grew faster than their retail counterparts, although the difference was not as extensive as in 2022, when there was a release…

Ice cream is in a negative-digit volume slump in Romania in 2024, while value sales are better supported by price hikes. As in past years, ice cream continues to be strongly affected by the seasonal weather, with the warm season which starts in…

The ice cream market in Poland experienced significant disruptions due to the rise in operational and production costs seen towards the end of the review period. These costs were often passed on to consumers, or businesses sought ways to cut costs by…

Consumer demand for ice cream remains strong in 2023, even after the category’s full recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. The scorching heat in 2023 has led to high demand for ice cream driving up impulse purchases. Inflation and rising unit prices…

Ice cream sales are bouncing back in 2023 following a disastrous performance in the year prior, when the summer was much colder than normal and impulse purchases reduced substantially. Consequently, ice cream manufacturers were unable to fulfil their…

Ice cream is expected to be an outlier in terms of snacks in 2023, with healthy constant value and volume growth expected. A hot summer is also expected to boost volume sales. However, with consumers continuing to be price sensitive, as inflation…

Retail sales of ice cream saw modest growth in volume terms in 2023, following the stagnant performance of the previous year. This was largely due to an increase in demand for take-home dairy ice cream, particularly bulk varieties, which represent…

Ice cream retail volume growth is decelerating in 2023, after a period of dynamic growth in 2022. The rebound in tourism and return to foodservice channels were the main drivers of this strong performance in 2022. Players have continued to offer…

Ice cream is expected to register moderate volume growth, though constant value sales are expected to be unchanged, as continuing high inflation cuts into profitability. With inflation still being high, consumers look for value for money and Unilever…

The year 2024 has seen a significant increase in ice cream unit prices in Croatia, driven by rising input costs experienced in 2023. To maintain the perception of affordability for consumers, retailers have implemented two key strategies: reducing…

Sales of ice cream in Bulgaria in 2024 are increasing in current value terms but declining in retail volume terms. This is due largely to the considerable rise in ice cream prices in the last few years of the review period and heightened consumer…

Ice cream in Bosnia and Herzegovina defied expectations in 2024. Despite a challenging demographic crisis leading to a shrinking consumer base, the category managed to maintain stable demand. This resilience can be attributed to the constant stream…

Hypermarkets in Ukraine lagged behind the other main modern grocery retailers channels in terms of current value sales growth in 2023. These types of outlets have lost ground to smaller formats since the start of the Russian invasion, in part because…

High inflation and the deteriorating economic situation in the Czech Republic led to weaker volume sales for hypermarkets in 2023. Shoppers were keen to reduce costs and cut back on the number of products they buy, leading to a decrease in volume…

Hypermarkets were the best performing grocery channel in Slovakia in 2023 in terms of value growth. Recent openings of new outlets boosted value sales, including the new Kaufland Bratislava outlet discussed below. However, with inflation still high,…

In 2023, hypermarkets in Romania continued to see retail value growth; however, footfall declined. The social function of hypermarkets before COVID-19 was a place for shopping and entertainment. This has diminished significantly since 2021, with the…

Hypermarkets recoded low growth in value sales in 2023 and was by far the weakest performer among modern grocery retailers. The channel struggles with consumers’ disinclination to buy groceries in large shopping centres on the outskirts of cities.…

Hypermarkets saw shrinking value sales in Hungary in 2023, compared to the double-digit growth rates seen the previous year. This is attributed to competition from other channels, such as discounters (eg Lidl and Aldi) which offer an increasingly…

After discounters, hypermarkets were the best performing grocery channel in Bulgaria in 2023 in terms of value growth. With inflation still high, hypermarkets registered a small increase in constant value sales. Recent opening of new outlets also…

Health and wellness staple foods saw a strong year in terms of value sales growth in 2022, with demand fuelled by a sharp rise in unit prices. Strong sales also came from categories like gluten-free and meat substitutes, as a growing number of Czech…