Eastern Europe

The war in Ukraine derailed the economic recovery of the Czech Republic and further disrupted the growth of real wages. GDP fell slightly in 2023, mainly reflecting a decline in household consumption amidst deteriorating consumer sentiment and a high…

In 2023, beauty and personal care was showing signs of recovery following a significant decline in 2022. Many companies were able to restore the disrupted logistics from 2022 and were operating at full capacity again in 2023. Despite the positive…

While HDPE bottles and folding cartons remained the two biggest pack types in Polish beauty and personal care packaging in unit volume terms in 2022, squeezable plastic tubes was third biggest and was also continuing to record rising unit volumes in…

After seeing a growth spike in 2021, facial care product packaging continued to see strong growth in 2022. This can be attributed to the increasing beauty consciousness among consumers, evolving preferences for personalised skin care routines, the…

One significant trend observed in beer in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2023 was the challenge posed by market saturation and escalating prices. As consumer preferences continued to evolve, the product area faced a decline in overall demand, particularly…

In 2023, beer consumption in Bulgaria decreased resulting in a decline in off-trade volume sales. Bulgarians spent more time out of the home and increased their level of domestic and foreign travel, thus lowering at-home beer consumption. The…

In 2023, beer sales in Croatia saw a marginal increase in total volume sales, primarily attributed to the positive impact of tourism on on-trade consumption. However, off-trade sales, largely reliant on local residents, experienced a decline due to…

The year 2023 was neither the best nor the worst year for beer sales in Estonia. Following the post-pandemic recovery in 2022, 2023 saw a reconsideration of consumer purchasing habits, especially in the face of economic slowdown. Consumers were more…

In 2023, the volume sales of beer in Georgia continued to grow, albeit at a slower pace compared to previous years. This growth, although more stable, was underpinned by both an increase in domestic production and a rise in imports. The Horeca…

Beer saw volume sales fall significantly in Hungary in 2023. Brewers held high expectations of restoring volume sales back to pre-pandemic levels during the year. However, these efforts fell short, and the beer market experienced a decline at the…

Volume sales of beer decreased in 2023 due to strong price inflation which forced consumers to cut back on consumption. In the difficult economic climate, consumers switched to wine, RTDs, as well as spirits for mixing drinks. On-trade volume sales…

The year 2023 was a challenging for beer in Lithuania where volume sales in the both the off-trade and on-trade declined. Retail sales of beer fell into decline due to price inflation and concerns regarding the economy. On-trade beer volumes started…

Beer consumption slowed in North Macedonia over 2023 although total volume sales held steady. With inflation remaining well above normal levels, current value sales grew in double-digits with high prices across all beer categories. The off-trade saw…

Sales of beer declined in 2023 in on- and off-trade volume terms as high inflation and rising living costs restricted consumer purchasing power. With money being tight many consumers were forced to focus on basic necessities and therefore they were…

Beer in Romania suffered further volume sales decline due to lower purchasing power. Inflation remained stubbornly high with increasing manufacturing costs driving up average prices of beer. The adverse weather during the all-important summer months…

Beer volume sales in Serbia remained upbeat in 2023, with the on-trade continuing to see double-digit growth and recovering back to pre-pandemic levels. Price sensitivity encouraged consumers to seek out cheaper prices of beer. As a result, one-fifth…

Total volume sales of beer in Slovakia continued to decline in 2023, albeit at a slower rate than the previous year. Growth was impacted by mounting inflationary pressures, which weighed heavily on consumer purchasing power. While beer benefited from…

In 2023, the overall consumption of beer in Slovenia continued its decline as consumers increasingly shifted towards spirits, particularly gin and rum, which have become popular as social and luxury beverages. This trend is bolstered by a growing…

Beer in the Czech Republic came under further pressure in 2023, with on-trade volumes declining. Stubbornly high inflation continued to impact Czech consumers with the cost-of-living creating a tougher economic environment in 2023. The on trade has…

Beer sales declined sharply in total volume terms in 2022 which was largely due to various issues related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. First there was a glass bottle deficit as one of the main glass manufacturing facilities in Ukraine was damaged…