Costa Rica

Nappies/diapers/pants recorded positive retail value growth in 2023 in Costa Rica. Despite rising prices, brand loyalty is generally strong in nappies/diapers/pants, where Huggies and Pampers are the leading choices, and consumers are generally…

Menstrual care in Costa Rica recorded double-digit retail value growth in 2023, driven by prices and the essential nature of the products. To aid sales, sanitary pads, tampons and panty liners had a VAT rate of 1% from 1 February 2023, down from the…

In 2023, the resurgence of tourism in Costa Rica drove notable growth in the away-from-home (AFH) retail tissue sector. From January to June 2023, Costa Rica witnessed a remarkable surge in tourist arrivals, registering a substantial 21% increase…

Volume growth in toilet care was muted. Two factors led to the muted growth. With the pandemic having passed, there was less frenetic cleaning. In addition, with inflation still being relatively high, consumers traded down as much as possible and…

Overall, surface care registered muted volume growth in 2023. However, given the diversity of this product area, some products performed better than others. Reckitt Benckiser continued to have a strong lead in surface care, thanks to its wide…

Demand for polishes has remained steady over the review period, as consumers continue to regularly use floor and furniture polish, as part of their cleaning routine. That being said, volume growth was muted, as competing products such as surface care…

Laundry care registered healthy current and constant value growth in 2023, though volume growth was much more muted. Powder detergent continued to be the most popular format, followed by liquid detergent. Liquid detergent, however, registered the…

There were significant price rises for home-insecticides in 2023, and in particular for spray/aerosols, as supply chain disruptions still lingered and this resulted in high current and constant value growth. However, despite significant price…

While there was still economic uncertainty, inflationary pressure eased significantly in 2023, even falling into deflation territory for part of the year. With the improved economic situation, home care registered healthy current value and modest…

Dishwashing registered healthy volume growth in 2023, as price increases eased. Hand dishwashing continued to account for most value sales and also registered the highest value and volume growth. As such, value sales for automatic dishwashing…

Value sales for bleach continued to slow, and consumers increasingly favoured less toxic home care products. Bleach has been cast in a negative light in terms of environmental and also health impacts. As such, consumers are looking to reduce bleach…

Air care was the weakest performer in terms of volume growth in 2023. While air care registered both high current and constant value growth, volume growth was marginal. The increased prices dampened volume demand and consumers prioritised essential…

The tea category did not experience the marked price increases seen in coffee. Instead, tea unit prices increased at a more modest pace, with the category poised to see prices fall in the coming years, in line with the consumer price index. Overall,…

In the post-pandemic era, Costa Ricans have resumed sports and exercise regimes, including group activities and competitions. Sports drinks has benefited from this return to normalcy as consumers use them to fuel during sports and/or refuel after…

Soft drinks faced a difficult year in 2023 as high levels of inflation were exacerbated by the appreciation of the Costa Rica Colón vis-à-vis the US dollar. Inflation led to unit price increases across a range of soft drinks categories, although…

Despite the inflationary climate in Costa Rica, the RTD tea category did not experience the same sudden price increases as other soft drinks. This benefited the category in terms of both volume and value growth as consumers did not feel as compelled…

RTD coffee products saw notable unit price increases over the review period, due in large part to the steep price movements of coffee in 2022. Given the relatively small size of RTD coffee in Costa Rica, the higher unit prices associated with these…

Other hot drinks has witnessed only slight unit price increases in recent years, which has resulted in stable volume and value growth in the category. Sales in the on-trade channel continue to recover from the pandemic, aided by the return of…

The juice category was negatively affected by the high inflation affecting the country, with some of the highest unit price increases within soft drinks being applied to juices. In addition to persistent inflationary pressures, issues regarding the…

Inflation has taken its toll on hot drinks in Costa Rica, striking the coffee category especially hard in 2022. Conditions were exacerbated by the swift and unexpected appreciation of the colon vis-à-vis the dollar, which created a set of challenging…