Romania

Liquid and tablet detergents were products within laundry care seeing a strong development in volume sales terms in Romania in 2022. In keeping with the growing complexity of consumers and their need for increasingly innovative products, several…

Corruption continues to hamper economic freedom and fiscal health could be improved, but Romania has entered a period of political stability. Economic development is set to slow, as high inflation erodes purchasing power and has led to greater…

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…

Sales of computers continue to decline in retail volume terms in 2023. This is partly down to the uncertain political and economic context, but also due to the strong performance seen during the pandemic. Tablets is seeing the strongest decline.…

After a strong performance in 2020 and 2021, sales of consumer electronics moved into negative territory in 2022 in retail volume terms, mainly as a result of the impact of double-digit inflation on unit prices, the economy and cost of living. Sales…

Consumers are increasingly consuming entertainment through their mobile devices in Romania, including when outside home and on the move with this making a positive contribution to the growth and development of headphones. Furthermore, rising mobility…

Sales of home audio and cinema continue to decline in 2023, continuing the pattern seen over the review period. This decline has accelerated in 2022/2023 in part due to the rising mobility of Romanians. During the pandemic some products such as home…

Sales of home video declined in 2022 in retail volume terms with this trend continuing into 2023. This is mostly due to increasing pressure on consumers’ disposable income with Romania experiencing elevated rates of inflation which has led to a sharp…

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…

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…

For the second year in a row, sales of smartphones are declining in retail volume terms in 2023. This is partly due to the fact that the category is reaching maturity. In the current economic context, Romanians are postponing large, non-essential…

With the pandemic being declared over by the World Health Organisation in early 2023 most consumers have now returned to their old lifestyles and behaviour. The rising mobility of the population has helped to drive strong demand for wireless speakers…

Alongside the rising preoccupation for health and wellness among the population, consumers are becoming increasingly knowledgeable and want to track more of their health parameters (eg heart rate, oxygen blood level, burn calories, water intake,…

Low cost carriers remained the largest category of airlines in Romania in 2023 in terms of both value sales and passengers carried as it recorded stronger growth in passenger numbers than full service carriers, although full service carriers recorded…

The dynamic sales growth that was recorded in bookings in 2023 was mainly the result of the strong interest that many local consumers have in placing early bookings when planning leisure travel. This boom in booking travel and tourism products and…

The very favourable performance recorded in lodging in Romania during 2023 can be seen as the consequence of rising occupancy rate, which led directly to dynamic growth in room nights as well as spurring the development and opening of new hotels. The…

2023 saw robust growth in domestic tourism trips and outbound departures as rising demand continued to be driven by the realisation of pent-up demand following the total removal of COVID-19 restrictions from March 2022. With local consumers taking…

The dynamic performances recorded across all categories of travel and tourism in Romania during 2023 represented the continuation of the strong recovery that began in 2021 and developed over the course of 2022. This was mainly result of the…

As Romanian consumers have more financial resources available, they are willing to explore and invest in higher-quality and more sophisticated alcoholic drinks. Consequently, this places pressure on producers to make sure the packaging of their…

Despite general economic instability and a rise in prices, the analgesics category in 2023 looks set to achieve a positive performance. However, the current value growth rate is likely to be slower than in the previous year. This can be attributed to…

Despite ongoing economic instability and the high rate of inflation, the consumer health market in Romania is witnessing steady growth in 2023. Notably, it is the categories of vitamin and dietary supplements, cough, cold and allergy (hay fever)…

Following the return to normality in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, with no more lockdowns or movement restrictions, there has been an increase in the spread of cold and flu viruses, as well as a widespread rise in issues caused by hay fever and…

International players with broad portfolios continue to lead the way in dermatologicals, with Bayer Romania the top-ranked company. Bayer Romania’s Canesten, the best-selling product in both topical and vaginal antifungals, is expected to maintain…

As a result of the COVID-19 crisis, consumers have become more informed, leading to continued benefits for dietary supplements. In 2023, combination dietary supplements dominate the market, accounting for a significant portion of overall value sales.…

An increasing number of Romanian consumers are suffering from digestive issues due to eating unhealthy food, certain foods such as saturated fats, or larger amounts than usual servings. The return to hectic lifestyles has also involved an increase in…

In Romania, the eye care industry has not seen much change and is mostly controlled by a few big companies. These top brands are well-known and trusted by consumers, thanks to their strong distribution and advertising efforts. There is, therefore, an…

Herbal/traditional products is benefiting from the broad trend towards products containing natural ingredients that is influencing demand across a wide range of consumer goods categories, including packaged food and soft drinks, as well as consumer…

A recent study revealed that Romania has one of the highest rates of smoking in Europe, estimated at around 30%. This high smoking rate has a positive impact on the performance of NRT smoking cessation aids, as a significant number of smokers are…

Paediatric vitamins and dietary supplements remains the largest area of paediatric consumer health. Romanian parents, following the recommendations of family doctors, are understanding the importance of vitamins to their children’s physical and…

A study has found that 16% of the Romanian population experience chronic insomnia, while 30% regularly struggle with insomnia. These percentages indicate a significant portion of the population affected by sleep-related issues and this high…

Within the sports nutrition market in Romania, protein/energy bars remains the largest category. Indeed, its strength is being reinforced by the increasing trend for physical activity amongst urban consumers, many of whom are more exposed to…

In the context of rising consumer health consciousness, many Romanian consumers are coming to perceive their daily habits as unhealthy. For example, many consumers are becoming aware of their irregular eating and inadequate water intake. As they come…

According to official statistics, 58% of the Romanian adults are overweight. Another significant cause for concern is that, of children aged between 7 and 9 years old, 30% are overweight and around 15-20% are obese. Even though Romania is just below…

With Romanian consumers having returned to more active lifestyles in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis, there has been an increased incidence of minor injuries. The greater engagement in physical exercise amongst health conscious consumers and children…

Value growth in baby food is being supported by inflation and, thus, high unit prices in 2023, whereas volume is flat. Unit prices have been pushed up by the rising costs for transport, storage, and distribution logistics, in particular for baby…

Value growth in butter and spreads is being supported by high unit prices, while volume remains in a decline. These factors are in direct correlation, as the skyrocketing prices, driven by inflationary pressures and increases in costs, mean…

Cheese is experiencing the cross-category trend of value being supported by high prices, whereas volume is being suppressed by low consumer spending power in the inflationary context. The overall volume declines in cheese are also the consequence of…

The performance of dairy products and alternatives in 2023 remains under the impact of still-high inflation and the pushed up costs of living which significantly affect a large part of the population in Romania. In fact, 2023 witnesses a continuation…

In an overarching cross-category trend, drinking milk products is seeing value growth supported by high unit prices driven by costs, alongside volume slumping in a price-sensitive environment. Indeed, unit prices at shelf level have been driven up by…

Other dairy is seeing value growth driven by price hikes associated with elevated costs, while volume is in a slump due to consumers’ weakened purchasing power in the inflationary context. Cream is the most important subcategory in other dairy, thus…

Plant-based dairy is the winner in 2023, enjoying healthy volume growth and strong value sales alike. This positive dynamic is supported by the fact that plant-based dairy in Romania is growing from a relatively small base. While plant-based dairy…

Yoghurt and sour milk products is facing the cross-category trends of value sales being driven by increased unit prices, with volume sales in a slump. The growth of average unit prices in 2023 is a consequence of high inflation, a deficit of raw milk…

Tourist visitor levels in Romania recovered in 2023, despite global macroeconomic pressures like high inflation and the rapid escalation of living costs. International tourism increased by 40% January-July compared with the corresponding period in…

Retail current value sales of fine wines/champagne and spirits grew by 15% in 2023 to total RON505 million. This was the result of the consumer desire to indulge themselves after the pandemic. Socialising over a drink with friends remains a priority…

Retail current value sales of luxury goods in Romania rose by 12% in 2023 to stand at RON9.8 billion. There was a clear focus on recovery in the post-Coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown period, with luxury shoppers keen to indulge in activities that may…

Personal luxury retail value sales increased by 21% in 2023 to amount to RON4.6 billion. Growth was supported by leading brand owners, such as LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA, L’Oréal Romania SRL and Cie Financière Richemont SA. Growth in 2023…

Retail current value sales of premium and luxury cars rose by 3% in 2023 to reach RON4.3 billion, aided by augmented demand from affluent buyers despite macroeconomic challenges. Wealth determines the degree of demand that exists for premium and…

While flexible packaging remained the most popular packaging format for overall baby food in 2022, driven by prepared baby food, board tubs displayed an increase in pack type share within the category for several reasons. Firstly, as board tubs are…

In 2022, demand for the leading pack type within confectionery, flexible plastic, continued to grow. This was because confectionery products are often sensitive to moisture, air, and light, and flexible plastic packaging can provide a barrier against…

PET bottles witnessed an increase in pack type share within dairy packaging in 2022. This was because PET bottles are lightweight and shatter-resistant, ensuring both cost-effective transportation and reduced risk of breakage. The material's barrier…