Asia Pacific

The edible oils category experienced another year of decline in 2023, both in volume and value terms, following contraction in the previous year. The fact that the CPO (crude palm oil) price had not yet fallen was a key reason for this performance.…

Discounting activities, consumers’ busier lifestyles and demand for more convenient, practical cooking solutions, especially amongst middle to upper income consumers, spurred growth in cooking ingredients and meals in Indonesia in 2023. Considerable…

The consumption of sweet spreads in Singapore is largely limited to breakfast occasions, and typically applied to toast. Hence, it is challenging for the category to achieve greater penetration in the local market or record stronger growth. In…

Convenience continues to be the key driver for sauces, dips and condiments as local consumers are looking for ways to save time on the preparation of meals due to increasingly hectic lifestyles. Notably, complex dishes that require a wide array of…

Retail demand for ready meals has improved in 2023 following several years of decline in Singapore, as local consumers are attempting to adjust to spending increasing time outside of the home. Therefore, demand is being driven by convenience factors.…

Edible oils in Singapore continues to face significant disruptions in 2023, caused by climate change and geopolitical risks. While there has been an improvement in demand compared to 2022, the higher average unit price of edible oils continues to…

Cooking ingredients and meals continues to offer marginally higher average unit prices from the lingering effect of the inflationary wave in 2022, as climate change and geopolitical risks further impact global food production and supply chains,…

Sweet spreads is seeing stronger retail value growth compared to retail volume, due to price rises in the category. Health trends are also evident in sweet spreads, as many products contain high levels of sugar (e.g., jams and preserves and chocolate…

Sauces, dips, and condiments is benefitting from ongoing home cooking trends. Whilst foodservice was reopened and tourism has resumed, there are many consumers who continue to cook at home for both budgetary and dietary reasons. Hence, foodservice…

Meals and soups benefit from consumers’ return to busy out-of-home lifestyles in the post-pandemic landscape – particularly so in the large cities. Such options provide convenience to consumers who are seeking quick and easy meals. Added to which,…

Olive oil is seeing a return to popularity, with a rebound in robust retail volume growth, thanks to ongoing health and wellness trends and the fact olive oil is perceived to be a healthy product. The increasing popularity of Western cuisines, which…

Cooking ingredients and meals is showing an overall positive performance in 2023, in both value and volume terms, and in both retail and foodservice. Whilst consumers remain somewhat price-sensitive and continue to seek value for money, we are also…

Sweet spreads is set to see slight growth in retail current value terms in Japan in 2023. However, this growth is mainly due to price increases for sweet spreads, and retail volume sales are expected to see another year of decline, primarily due to…

In 2023, sauces, dips and condiments in Japan is set to continue to see a backlash from the rapid retail volume growth recorded in 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the expectation of another year of notable decline. In retail current value…

In May 2023, COVID-19 was reclassified as a class 5 infectious disease, which is the same level as influenza. The restrictions on group activities that had been in place since the first pandemic in February 2020 were therefore finally relaxed in…

Edible oils in Japan is set to see declines in both retail current value and volume terms in 2023, mainly due to a sharp increase in unit prices. The unit prices of various edible oils in Japan have been increasing rapidly, and overall edible oils is…

In May 2023, COVID-19 was reclassified as a class 5 infectious disease, which is the same level as influenza. Therefore, the restrictions on group activities that had been in place for a long time, since the first emergence of the pandemic in…

With Sri Lanka facing its worst economic crisis in 74 years, product shortages and price hikes have recalibrated consumer demand and supply patterns across all categories of cooking ingredients and meals. Manufacturers are struggling due to the…

Retail volume sales of cooking ingredients and meals stabilised in 2023 due to recovery of foodservice, which had declined as a result of the pandemic and the post-coup economic downturn. However, total volume sales declined as prices rose due to…

The COVID-19 pandemic has more or less come to an end in 2023, however, the country and economy faces a new set of challenges due to the international fuel hikes and inflation. As a result, most categories within cooking ingredients and meals have…