Slovakia

In 2023, despite a stabilisation in the unit price growth of staple foods, the purchasing power of Slovaks failed to recover. Factors such as higher interest rates, rising oil prices, and more expensive services continued to significantly limit their…

Retail current value sales of coffee were driven by sharp rises in average current unit prices towards the end of the review period, as the prices of commodities and production and supply costs increased substantially. This led to thriftier shopping…

In 2023, hot drinks’ performance was impacted by a number of factors, with divergent or opposing effects on categories. For example, cocoa commodity price hikes created upward pressure on retail unit prices in other hot drinks, driving up value…

Price promotions and discounts reigned supreme among marketing activities as Slovak consumers exhibited thrifty shopping behaviour in 2023. Selective shopping encompassed a prioritisation of essential goods in an attempt to save money, or simply a…

Amid a highly inflationary climate, informing higher production and logistics costs, unit price growth propelled retail current value sales of tea in 2023. However, the residual economic fallout of COVID-19 and high inflation towards the end of the…

The demand for bottled water continued to suffer during 2023, as unfavourable weather conditions and weak purchasing power negatively impacted volume consumption. This was mostly visible in retail, as foodservice saw a late and slow recovery from the…

The demand for carbonates was negatively impacted by a cool early summer and cold weather in spring 2023. A further decrease in off-trade volume sales can partly be attributed from the recovery of the on-trade channel, which caused a shift in the…

Liquid concentrates maintained a larger market size than powder concentrates, underpinned by a stronger retail presence and heavier marketing support. Highlighting the advantages of liquid concentrates, such as ease-of-use and flavour variety, has…

Unfavourable weather in spring and summer 2023 restricted the growth potential of energy drinks in both the retail and foodservice channels. In addition, weak purchasing power continued to limit local consumers’ ability to spend on relatively…

The competition from cheaper drinks alternatives, such as flavoured bottled water and non alcoholic beer, was increasingly felt by juice in Slovakia towards the end of the review period. This was because the typical Slovak consumer was increasingly…

More hectic and on-the-go lifestyles as consumers resumed work, social and travel norms, as the threat of COVID-19 and related restrictions were lifted, stimulated a demand for RTD coffee. However, demand limitation barriers arose in the form of the…

The off-trade demand for RTD tea in Slovakia suffered from colder than usual weather in 2023, as a cold spring combined with fewer tropical days during summer to negatively impact sales. In addition to this climatic factor, consumers were trying to…

Only energy drinks is projected to see positive off-trade volume growth over 2023 as a whole. While there was a slow shift back to foodservice, as consumers more fully resumed pre-Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic work, social and travel norms,…

The competition to sports drinks in Slovakia in 2023 came increasingly from functional bottled water, including bottled water products positioned as being rich in minerals, such as magnesium. This was because of the overlapping of the potential…

Bars/pubs registered very healthy double-digit constant value growth in 2023, in spite of high inflation. There were also a significant number of openings. The introduction of a permanent reduced 10% VAT rate bolstered the sector. That being said,…

Retail locations registered the highest value growth, as retail locations continue to be sought after locations, due to their high footfall. Also, in 2023, the Eurovea shopping centre in Bratislava expanded its food hall and it is now the largest…

While inflation remained high in 2023, government measures aimed at protecting the hospitality sector benefitted consumer foodservice. In particular, the reduced 10% VAT rate (from a previous 20%), which was introduced during the pandemic, was made…

In spite of continuing high inflation, full service restaurants registered double-digit constant value growth. The announcement that the reduced 10% VAT rate, which was introduced during the pandemic, was going to be permanent, boosted the sector.…

While inflation remained high in 2023, government measures aimed at protecting the hospitality sector benefitted limited-service restaurants. In particular, the reduced 10% VAT rate (from a previous 20%), which was introduced during the pandemic, was…

On the one hand, self-service cafeterias benefited from their competitive prices in 2023, with consumers being highly price sensitive consumers in face of continuing high inflation. As daily menu prices increased in restaurants, some consumers…