Western Europe

Paediatric consumer health is expected to see strong growth in current value terms in 2023, with most categories projected to post a positive performance in value and volume terms. Volume sales are benefiting from the increase in unit prices…

Paediatric consumer health is performing well in 2023 for the second consecutive year, albeit at a much lower pace of current value growth than in 2022. Ireland witnessed a more intense season of common colds and viruses among children in 2022 as the…

The re-opening of schools and the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions, such as compulsory use of face masks in schools, is leading to strong growth for multiple categories within paediatric consumer health. For example, sales of lice/anti-parasitic…

The pandemic led to a higher containment of flu and bronchiolitis in France due to prolonged home seclusion, which negatively impacted children’s immunity. The impact of this is becoming increasingly evident as young consumers now interact with one…

Paediatric analgesics saw only modest volume growth in 2023 as a result of a return to pre-pandemic consumption habits. More robust current value growth was partly the result of inflationary pressures due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which has…

While a growing number of adults are now working at home for at least one or two days during the week, most children are now back in nurseries and classrooms from morning until the afternoon, five days a week. As a result, children were not spared by…

NRT smoking cessation aids is projected to post a decline in retail volume sales in 2023, while recording positive retail current value growth. The decline in retail volume sales can be attributed to a couple of key factors. Firstly, following the…

Positive volume sales growth returned to NRT smoking cessation aids in 2023 following two years of declining volume during 2022 and 2021. This followed two years of very strong sales growth during 2019 and 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic encouraged…

Since the end of the pandemic, smoking prevalence rates have been increasing in Italy, reaching 20% of the population in 2023, up slightly on the previous year. Smoking prevalence fell during the pandemic for several reasons. Firstly, media articles…

The pandemic period led to unhealthier lifestyles for a large number of Irish consumers, with some returning to smoking regular cigarettes as retail outlets selling vapes and other alternatives were closed. The stress and anxiety related to the…