Belgium

Surface care saw a sharp spike in sales in 2020 due to people spending a lot more time at home, but also due to heightened hygiene concerns resulting from the COVID-19 crisis. With the easing of restrictions in 2021, surface care sales dropped.…

Prior to the outbreak of COVID-19 sales of air care had been stagnating with consumers showing a preference for more natural solutions. However, the pandemic and the measures taken to contain it provided a major boost to category sales in 2020 with…

In 2021, the retailing environment in Belgium benefitted from the gradual lifting of restrictions related to COVID-19. Indeed, whilst store-based sales in non-grocery showed recovery, e-commerce continued to record strong growth in the year due to…

Prior to the pandemic, sports drinks struggled amid arising anti-sugar sentiments as the category’s image took on an unhealthy aspect and competition from flavoured and functional bottled water became more intense. Already in decline, sports drinks…

Sales of dishwashing products shot up in 2020 as consumers were forced into hibernation by COVID-19. This resulted in consumers eating more meals at home which in turn created increased demand for dishwashing. Although restrictions were eased in 2021…

Direct selling managed to perform positively in both 2020 and 2021. Indeed, most direct sellers took advantage of digitalisation and were able to increase their sales thanks to social selling (direct selling through social media, MLM) and home…

Proximity and convenience proved to be key factors behind the very strong growth of convenience stores in 2020. Following such a performance, and in the context of the progressive lifting of restrictions related to COVID-19, convenience stores’ value…

Coffee declined in retail volume terms in 2021. This comes after the boost seen in 2020 because of the enormous amount of consumption occasions that moved from foodservice and institutional channels to retail, forcing consumers to prepare coffee at…

Off-trade volume growth in RTD coffee declined in 2021. Growth had been high for the whole review period, peaking in 2018 when Starbucks Discoveries entered. Sales were negatively affected during the pandemic, with decline in demand caused by fewer…

As foodservice outlets resumed activity in 2021 and Belgians began frequenting cafés and restaurants again, on-trade sales of juice increased in both volume and value terms after the steep decline in 2020. In the foodservice channel, not from…

Carbonates continued to portray a positive growth rate in the off trade in 2021. Most Belgians continued to work from home throughout the year, supporting retail sales of soft drinks for at-home consumption. However, as foodservice establishments…

The circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic had opposite effects on the performance of homeshopping in both 2020 and 2021. Categories such as apparel and beauty and personal care, for instance, strongly declined, mostly due to both retailers and…

Sales of polishes had been on a downward trajectory for over a decade when the COVID-19 crisis hit Belgium with many consumers no longer investing in polishes. The category experienced an unexpected turnaround in fortunes in 202O due to people…

Department stores in Belgian is a small category, with only two players, Hudson's Bay Co and Sogesma SA. Following a very negative 2020 due to stores closures, and mobility and social life restrictions, the channel recovered partially in 2021 thanks…

Throughout the review period free from continued to post double-digit current value growth, and the COVID-19 pandemic boosted sales even more. Free from dairy products continued to grow strongly in 2021 as consumers seek to reduce their dairy…

In 2021, off-trade volume sales of soft drinks declined, while off-trade current value sales grew, albeit at a lower rate than observed in 2020. The negative volume growth for soft drinks was in part down to channel shifts as horeca establishments…

Overall, off-trade volume sales and current value sales rose in 2021, while foodservice sales only partially recovered after a substantial drop in 2020. This resulted primarily from the closure of night clubs, where a high proportion of on-trade…

Following a notable surge in demand for much of retail tissue due to stockpiling tendencies amongst consumers during the pandemic, the category returned to declining demand in 2021. While the home seclusion trend remained due to ongoing remote…

Hypermarkets only marginally benefitted from the circumstances of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 as they offer a wide range of products including non-grocery products, but then saw strong decline in 2021. This was mostly due to competition from…

In 2021, liquid concentrates off-trade volume sales remained at the same level as in 2020. Powder concentrates, however, saw its review period downward trajectory accelerated during the pandemic. Patterns in retail current value sales were similar…