Western Europe

Western European snacks sales were relatively unaffected by the pandemic, other than showing a slight demand spike in retail value terms when COVID-19 hit the region in 2020. However, high inflation in the post-pandemic period negatively impacted the…

Technological advances in 2024 will continue to reshape consumer behaviour. This annual report explores the top five digital shopper trends that will redefine commerce the most in the year ahead. Some of the trends included in this report’s edition…

Sales of chocolate confectionery struggled in 2023, as the cost of key ingredients including sugar and cocoa hit the manufacturers hard, with players forced to pass on the increase in production costs to the consumer. Indulgence has long maintained…

Chocolate confectionery in Italy in 2024 is following the general trend of value being supported over volume due to lingering inflationary pressures. However, any volume challenges in subcategories are being balanced by the popularity of seasonal…

Gum saw strong growth in 2023 in retail volume and current value terms as the category continued to recover from the huge decline in sales seen during the height of the pandemic. However, while the category has continued to see healthy growth in 2024…

Gum in Italy continues to achieve positive value and volume sales in 2024. Notably, gum consumption is strongly related to an out-and-about, sociable lifestyle, whereas such activities were curbed during the era of the pandemic restrictions and…

Sales of ice cream declined sharply in retail volume terms in 2023, with France experiencing lower temperatures and greater instability in the weather than in 2022. Whilst value sales grew this was due to price rises, with volume sales fell across…

Ice cream remains in a small negative volume slump in Italy in 2024, albeit with sales improved from 2023. Meanwhile, value is better supported by inflated prices. The overall negative performance is being affected by a slump in take-home ice cream,…

Savoury snacks is having another good year in 2024 although certain categories are seeing a much stronger performance than others in terms of volume growth. Potato chips, for instance, is seeing solid growth in volume terms while the category’s value…

Savoury snacks are seeing a positive performance in Italy in 2024, in both volume and value terms. This is strongly supported by the “snackification” trend, whereby consumers eat fewer, full, sit-down meals and, instead, snack more often during the…