After seeing dynamic pandemic-related growth in 2020 due to home seclusion, minimal changes in value sales were seen in 2021 and 2022, despite restrictions easing. With rising health-consciousness, a move towards snack bars and fruit snacks is being seen, but consumers still purchase sweet biscuits as a treat, seeing it as permissible indulgence. Moving forward, players will have to continuously adjust their portfolios to meet consumers’ needs and follow new regulations, such as HFSS in the UK.
This report comes in PPT.
Value sales remained stable in Western Europe in 2022, although performances ranged from dynamic growth in Turkey, which has low but rising per capita consumption, to decline in Germany, as sales normalised after a dynamic increase during the pandemic. As COVID-19 restrictions ease and consumers become more mobile, more consumption is taking place outside the home, with a move seen towards on-the-go packaging.
The acceleration of the health trend is impacting consumers’ consumption. Some are switching from sweet biscuits to snack bars and fruit snacks, which are perceived as healthier. Others are moving to new variants that contain less fat/sugar, or claim to be healthier due to added vitamins, fibre or protein. Some are simply cutting their intake. However, indulgence remains important for small treats at a difficult time, with ongoing COVID-19, high inflation, and war in Ukraine.
COVID-19 accelerated the move to e-commerce in 2020 due to home seclusion, but growth continued in this distribution channel in 2022, even as restrictions were lifted, due to its convenience and wide product variety. Store-based retail still dominates, however, led by supermarkets, hypermarkets and discounters, while convenience retail rebounded to some extent as mobility resumed, although sales remained below the pre-pandemic level in 2022.
Rising inflation in 2022, which is likely to continue into 2023, is likely to impact consumers’ decision-making in the forecast period. In times of crisis, some consumers like to save money by opting for simpler products, whereas others continue to indulge themselves on a small scale, such as with sweet biscuits. Players will need to develop products to meet the needs of all consumer groups, but also new government policy, such as the HFSS regulation in the UK.
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