Belgium

Nappies/diapers/pants recorded a marginal retail volume decline in Belgium in 2019, with demographic changes the main factor as the population under one years old declined. With fewer babies in the country, demand for nappies and diapers declined. In...

Sanitary protection continued to see retail volume decline in 2019. An ageing population means that fewer consumers need sanitary protection as greater numbers of Belgian women reach the menopause. Demand is further being eroded by the widening ...

AFH adult incontinence continued to see good retail volume and current value growth in 2019 as demand increased significantly due to population ageing. Homes for the elderly and healthcare institutions remained the largest source of demand for AFH ...

Overall, the impact of COVID-19 has proved slightly positive for sales of tissue and hygiene in 2020, especially retail tissue, particularly at the start of the pandemic when significant stockpiling was seen. This has been linked to many wishing to ...

Retail adult incontinence continued to record good retail volume and current value growth in 2019. Sales benefited from an ageing population, heavy investment from manufacturers in terms of innovation, and strong price competition. Elderly consumers ...

The penetration rate of wipes remained low in 2019 in Belgium, with manufacturers doing little to develop the category at the end of the review period. There were few product innovations or promotional campaigns aimed at attracting new consumers. As ...

Retail tissue was under pressure in 2019, with declining volume and value sales, as the penetration rate is at its maximum and stable. Price competition also hindered current value growth, with even leading brands using heavy price promotion ...

Belgium’s economy will contract significantly in 2020. This is expected to be driven by a large drop in household consumption, which has been hindered by restrictive measures put in place to combat the pandemic and low confidence. A more pronounced ...

Pet retailers increasingly provide healthcare advice, as pet healthcare witnessed a shift over the review period ...

Premiumisation continues to gain momentum in dog treats, with owners increasingly willing to spend more money on treats for their animals. In addition, the pet humanisation trend results in more dog owners using treats to show their pets how much ...

 Pet care in Belgium continues to record substantial current value growth, with particularly high levels of growth recorded by premium dry cat food, dog treats, cat treats and premium wet cat and dog food. The increase in these areas reflects the ...

Urbanisation boosts cat ownership, but benefits cat products such as cat litter and toys, as well as supporting the growing interest in small dogs, mammals and reptiles ...

 In line with the growing demand for smaller dog breeds, small mammals are rising in popularity in Belgium, which is aided by small mammals being readily available in pet superstores and pet shops. Seen as cheaper and more convenient than either a ...

Belgium households will be dominated by single-person families over 2020-2040. High urbanisation, the considerable productivity of the workforce, and growing business digitalisation will help households retain moderate growth in their disposable ...

2019 marked the start of a slowdown for street stalls/kiosks in Belgium, which was not in sales, but in outlets. Food trucks largely dominated in street stalls/kiosks, and although this area has plenty of room for growth, it was dampened by the ...

Self-service cafeterias saw a slowdown in 2019 and a decline in growth, following a peak over the review period. Self-service-cafeteria sales are often correlated with an influx of consumers in the locations the outlets are - especially retail areas ...

Following the tough years of 2016 and 2017, when businesses were adversely impacted by terrorist attacks, especially in Brussels, full-service restaurants continued to struggle in 2018 and 2019. This was due to several factors. Firstly, the full ...

Growth positively increased in 2019 and was particularly accelerated compared to the review period. Growth for the forecast period continues to look positive, boosted by tax guidelines and newly implemented legislation. In 2016, the government ...

The performance of the travel & tourism landscape has an impact on several areas; notably consumer foodservice through travel, but also leisure, lodging and even standalone. After the unsuccessful period of 2016-2017 that followed the terrorist ...

Improvements in 2018 and 2019 was due to several reasons. Firstly, the Belgian football team’s performance during the 2018 World Cup, partnered with the warm summer weather in both 2018 and 2019, increased traffic to cafés/bars. Bars in Flanders ...