Eastern Europe

The PET bottle is the dominant pack type in Polish soft drinks, in the retail channel in particular. PET bottles are seen as a convenient option for many soft drink products, such as carbonates and bottled water, as they come in various pack sizes,…

Flexible packaging is the favoured choice in hot drinks packaging in Poland, boasting the highest retail unit volume sales, especially in categories like tea and coffee. Among flexible packaging options, flexible plastic is the most popular pack…

The continued trend of bulk buying, even post-pandemic, coupled with a preference for online shopping, has led consumers to opt for larger quantities of bottled water, prioritising cost-effectiveness and stockpiling. Multipack offerings can help…

Coffee is the most popular hot drink in Romania, with coffee packaging thus dominating overall sales in the hot drinks industry. This results in the dominance of flexible aluminium/plastic, due to the popularity of vacuum-packed coffee bricks. Most…

In 2022, Romania’s packaging industry witnessed dynamic shifts influenced by economic challenges and consumer preferences. Larger pack sizes became the preferred choice across a variety of categories, offering consumers economic advantages amid…

In 2022, packaging in Poland was becoming increasingly influenced again by pre-pandemic lifestyles and practices. For example, sugar confectionery experienced a significant shift towards smaller packaging options. The more compact sizes helped to…

Technological advances in 2024 will continue to reshape consumer behaviour. This annual report explores the top five digital shopper trends that will redefine commerce the most in the year ahead. Some of the trends included in this report’s edition…

The briefing examines how the pulp commodity performs globally and in the largest countries in terms of supply and production. The report also provides data and analysis on pulp price dynamics, as well as trends across key commodity-consuming…

While thin wall plastic containers and glass jars remained the most popular packaging types for sweet spreads in Romania at the end of the review period, the niche of other rigid containers continued to record strong growth within chocolate spreads.…

The use of PET bottles as a pack type for sauces, dips and condiments continued to gain momentum in 2022 for a number of reasons. Firstly, local consumers appreciate the transparency of this pack type as they can see the texture, colour and…

Despite another low retail unit volume decline in 2022 in line with greater mobility outside of the home, demand for processed meat and seafood packaging remained above pre-pandemic levels, driven by urbanisation in Romania. With consumers’…

Metal food cans remained the most popular packaging type for processed fruits and vegetables in 2022, driven by their strength in the largest retail unit volume category of shelf stable fruits and vegetables. Nevertheless, the use of glass jars in…

Plant-based dairy continued on its dynamic growth trajectory towards the end of the review period, albeit from a low base. While plant-based dairy has been available in Romania for some years, the pandemic and associated health trends accelerated…

While other leading pack types, such as flexible aluminium/plastic and flexible aluminium/paper, continued to lose ground within meals and soups packaging in 2022, thin wall plastic containers witnessed an increase in pack type share. This was…

PET bottles witnessed an increase in pack type share within dairy packaging in 2022. This was because PET bottles are lightweight and shatter-resistant, ensuring both cost-effective transportation and reduced risk of breakage. The material's barrier…

In 2022, demand for the leading pack type within confectionery, flexible plastic, continued to grow. This was because confectionery products are often sensitive to moisture, air, and light, and flexible plastic packaging can provide a barrier against…

While flexible packaging remained the most popular packaging format for overall baby food in 2022, driven by prepared baby food, board tubs displayed an increase in pack type share within the category for several reasons. Firstly, as board tubs are…

Glass jars is the dominant pack type in jams and preserves, which remains the main sweet spreads category – but thin wall plastic containers are growing in popularity as a cheaper alternative, with this latter pack type again recording double-digit…

There was a sharp acceleration in the rate of growth in demand for sauces, dips and condiments packaging during 2020, as consumers spent more time at home and prepared and ate more meals and snacks there. This continued in 2021, with the COVID-19 and…

Metal food cans continue to be the main packaging format used in both shelf stable meat and shelf stable seafood in Poland. Canned seafood, particularly fish, is a low-acid meal ingredient or solution that rapidly promotes the growth of microbes if…